We Thought It Was Over
by PointlesslyPoetic
Summary: The obligatory high school fanfic that no one ever asks for but every fandom has. When trouble starts brewing among the teenage population of the next town over, Kendra, Seth, and Bracken must go undercover as students to get to the bottom of it. The adults join them as teachers and faculty, and it all goes about as well as you'd expect. This is co-authored by feministkendra.
1. Bowling For Soup was Right All Along

**Hi y'all! Hope everyone enjoys this, and that it is as much fun to read as it was to write. Like I said, this story is entirely co-authored by feministkendra, so send love her way for all this, too.**

* * *

Chapter One: Bowling For Soup Was Right All Along

"Binders?"

"Yep."

"Schedule?"

"Right here."

"Folders."

"A couple."

"Sparkly gel pens?"

"What?"

"Sword?"

"Seth, seriously-"

"Throwback 90s playlist on your phone?"

"If you aren't going to help, beat it." Kendra sighed as she crammed the last of her binders into her backpack. "I want to be asleep by 10:30, and you are not helping. Don't you have to pack, too?"

"I have everything all ready!" Seth leapt off the bed, hauling his red backpack onto his mattress. "Get on my level, dude!"

"Ugh. You are literally twelve."

"I'm fourteen, thanks."

"Whatever. Go help Bracken. We don't even know if he has the right school supplies."

"Actually," a lightly accented voice drifted in from just outside the playroom door. "I am also completely ready for tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Seth asked, flopping down once again. "Butterfly post-it notes? Unicorn printed folders? Glitter pens? Life alert? You know, cause you're older than dirt?"

Bracken scowled at the younger boy, chucking a pillow from Kendra's bed at him. Seth snickered as he caught it, and before it could escalate, Kendra maneuvered herself between them.

"Neither of you two are helping my focus. Go downstairs, and see if any of our 'professors' need any help. Bracken, try to stay out of Vanessa's way. I'm not in the mood to break up any arguments tonight."

"Yes, ma'am." Bracken chuckled, shuffling out of the room after Seth, tossing a wink over his flannel clad shoulder.

Kendra sighed, collapsing onto her bed once the door shut behind the boys. They'd had little over a month to prep for this mission and she was still so anxious at the idea of it. Grandpa had called them all into his study on a sunny Tuesday morning mid-July. As the newly instated Captain of the Knights, he had received word of disturbing events in Cranford, a small yet typical New England town about 30 minutes away. 20 with Vanessa's driving. Kendra sighed, closing her eyes and letting her mind drift back to the meeting.

" _A contact and close friend of mine in Cranford just called," Grandpa steepled his fingers in front of his face, concentrating on the wood of the desk. "We have a mission to undertake."_

 _The adults shifted into noticeably less relaxed positions, realizing this wasn't a minor fix-it mission. Kendra, Seth, and Bracken, newly back from his mother's realm, stiffened nervously. The last huge mission they had gone through had nearly caused the apocalypse, and they were loathe to repeat the trauma so soon. Grandpa pressed on._

" _The younger side of Cranford's population has been acting strange lately, according to our friend. Teens from Briarside Preparatory High School have been vandalising, stealing, causing general havoc, undermining the authorities, and so on-"_

" _Wait," Warren interrupted, looking genuinely confused. "You called us in here, because a bunch of snotty rich teens are acting like less-rich, still snotty teens? Stan I know you're older but you've gotta remember what being a 16 year old hormone machine was like. I'm sure this is nothing."_

" _Alas," Grandpa's smile was wry and rueful. "I don't think setting a soccer field on fire and burning clothes from the local thrift store with no definable reason is all that typical. Nor is stabbing a fellow classmate in broad daylight over a lost chess match. Or coating the walls of the Rec Center with formaldehyde."_

" _Ok, solid points," Warren spoke slowly, as if thinking incredibly hard for another explanation. "But how do we know these kids aren't just fed up with the same shit day in and out? High school sucks, maybe they're just realizing early."_

" _At the scene of every incident, trace amounts of this substance," Grandpa pulled out a bag of dried leaves and sooty, sparkly powder, "were found. Tanu? If you would be so kind."_

 _The hulking Samoan leaned forward, taking the proffered bag from Stan's outstretched hand. "I'll see what I can find."_

" _So, what do you want us to do?" Vanessa spoke up, a finely groomed eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Skulk around the town until something turns up?"_

" _I would hope you would have more faith in my plans by now, Ms. Santoro," Grandpa raised an exaggerated eyebrow back, and Vanessa paused, smirking at his humor. "No, what I have in mind will require much more tact, and no small amount of secrecy and espionage. From all involved."_

" _And just who will be involved?" Bracken asked, apprehension in every word._

" _All gathered here, not to mention Trask, Elise, and Mara. We are going to need as many eyes as possible, and a small circle of those we trust. They'll be staying here, and while we should have the room, some may need to double up last minute."_

 _Kendra smothered her smile with her hand as she witnessed Warren and Vanessa make eye contact, blush, and give themselves whiplash from looking away with "subtlety". She purposely kept her eyes trained on her grandfather to avoid making the same mistake with Bracken in front of Seth._

" _Wait," Seth spoke up loudly from her right, dusting his cheese-dust covered hands on his black pants. "Do you mean we're going to be included on this? All of us? Me?"_

" _Yes, Seth, that is exactly what I mean."_

 _Seth whooped, punching a fist in the air._

" _Now hold on Seth, you might want to hear what the mission is first before you get all excited."_

" _If you're calling in so much help, I'm sure it's gonna be death-defying, with monsters and deception and fighting and secret handshakes and late nights."_

" _Well, you aren't wrong." Grandpa was now actively trying to hold back his laughter._

" _Stan," Warren sounded worried, an emotion Kendra didn't know he was capable of. "Where are you sending us?"_

" _High school."_

Kendra opened her eyes, looking up at the ceiling of her bedroom.

High school.

In all honesty, she was terrified beyond belief. The last high school she had attended now thought she was dead. She hasn't interacted with anyone in her peer group in over a year. She hasn't lived in a world without magic for months.

How was she going to do this?

"Kendra!" Warren's voice drifted in through the open door. "Come on downstairs. You can finish packing after dinner."

"Coming!" Kendra shouted back, pulling herself to her feet. By the time she reached the dining room, her plate had been made and everyone had started eating.

"Sorry," she blushed as all eyes turned to her, most with inquisitive looks, some with amusement. "Feeling kinda run down."

"No one blames you, _mija_ ," Vanessa spoke up from her seat between Warren and Seth. "I think we're all pretty on edge."

"Nothing like facing the gates of hell for round two." Tanu muttered around his salad. The rest of the adults nodded their agreement.

"Wait," Kendra paused in cutting her chicken, looking up to meet the eyes of her older friends. "You all hated high school?"

"Eh, maybe not hated-" Warren tried to start.

"No, hated." Trask interrupted him. He, Mara, and Elise had just gotten to the preserve about 4 hours ago.

"It was ok, sometimes." Vanessa tried to mediate.

"I loathed it. Not sure about the rest of you." Tanu spoke up, glancing around to see Mara, Trask, and Dale nodding with him.

"My high school was small, so it wasn't as bad as it could've been." Mara finally spoke.

"Warren made life difficult for me-" Dale started.

" _You_ were the older brother!" Warren exploded from further down the table, nearly showering Vanessa and Bracken in asparagus. "How did _I_ make it hard for you?"

"Well maybe if you showed up-" Dale snapped back, but before he could go any further, Stan stopped the brewing, apparently age-old, argument.

"We left that disagreement behind when you graduated, don't you drag it up out of the grave."

"Hold up!" Seth hollered from down the end by Ruth. "I for one, would like to know who you all were in high school."

"Come again?" Elise asked.

"Like, who was the nerd, the jock, the quiet kid, the band geek, etcetera." Seth explained, shoveling more chicken into his mouth. For a minute, the table was silent as the adults thought this over. Then Dale spoke up.

"Warren was a jock. Football star all four years and then some. Baseball, too, in the spring." Dale actually sounded pretty proud of his younger brother, Kendra noted. Then Warren opened his mouth.

"Hell yeah, man. Chicks were into the baseball pants." Dale scowled at Warren, and Kendra felt obliged to throw a piece of chicken at him.

"Pig-headed man." She swapped high-fives with Vanessa and Elise.

"Wait," Seth once again interrupted. "You played football? What positions?"

"Running back first year, then line-back, then quarterback."

"Injured?"

"What do you think?" Warren and Dale spoke at the same time, and the table's laughter filled the room.

"What about you?" Seth turned to Dale.

"Eh, I wasn't much for sports. I hunted in the mornings, then helped the agriculture or earth clubs after school. I was happy all the same."

"Ugh, a science nerd? Dale, c'mon man." Seth whined, but he was smiling.

"Hey now," Tanu said. "This science nerd is always patching you up, so I'd watch it."

"Let me guess," Vanessa looked over at him. "Chemistry?"

"How'd you know?" Tanu smiled. "Biology?"

"How'd you know?" Vanessa fired back, smiling as well.

"Did you do sports?" Seth asked her.

"Soccer, for a while, but I quit before varsity. Between drama club and AP courses and family life, I didn't exactly have a lot of free time." Seth went to dig further, but Kendra cut him off when she could see Vanessa didn't want to follow that conversation up.

"Vanessa," Kendra caught her attention. "You played soccer?"

"Yeah, from when I was about 3 to junior year. Looking back I wish I had kept doing it. Why?"

"I played soccer!" Kendra let herself smile as the other woman's eyes lit up. They had so little in common that any small thing was a miracle. "For like, 10 or so years! I had to stop when this all started, but I'd bet I'm still pretty good." Vanessa laughed, warm and happy.

"You're probably much better than me now, I haven't played in about 8 years now."

"We'll just have to start practising." Vanessa winked at her as Seth directed his prior question to Elise.

"Me?" She looked away from her conversation with Mara. "Oh. I was an art kid. Spent most of my free time in the studios, or media centers. And I didn't do the whole sports thing. Skating was my thing, not to mention the school nurse never would've cleared me."

"Why-" Bracken opened his mouth to inquire, clearly concerned that Elise was ill, but Trask swept up the conversation before Stan or Ruth could catch on. Mara and Warren covered their laughter behind their napkins.

"I was into hockey, in terms of sports, but like Vanessa, academics and family obligations took up my time. I had a lot of scholarships dependent on my honor roll status, so I hit the books pretty hard."

"Preach." Vanessa snorted from behind her wine glass, Tanu raising his own in camaraderie. The table was quiet for a bit as everyone digested both food and information. Stan cleared his throat to call everyone's attention back to him.

"I assume the kids' backpacks are all set, but have you all made up your lesson plans and gathered the supplies you will need?"

While she, Seth, and Bracken were going in as students, most of the adults were going in as teachers. Stan would be interim principal, Vanessa and Tanu were AP science instructors, Warren would be a history teacher, Trask a criminology teacher, Elise an art teacher, and Mara a gym coach. Ruth and Dale would be holding down the fort at the preserve.

"As ready as possible with a month's notice," Trask muttered.

"All set, Stan." Warren covered the agent's voice with his own. "Should be a good first week."

"Excellent," Stan nodded. "And for the record, I was a greaser."

And as the table once again dissolved into laughter and incredulous shouting, Kendra felt light and happy and more confident than ever. No matter what the coming year was going to bring, they would all have this to come home to every night. They'd made it through worse than the American education system, and they still had each other.

Hopefully, it will be enough.


	2. So It Begins

**Without further ado, here's**

* * *

Chapter Two:

Kendra gazed at the blurring greenery as Vanessa's car raced along the road. She wondered briefly if she'd ever get a chance to appreciate the forests around her in actuality, but quickly pushed the thought from her mind. It was the first day of her senior year, and she wished the car would both speed up and combust on the spot. Vanessa would probably appreciate neither suggestion, so Kendra kept her mouth shut and turned her music up.

"Pssssst," a murky whisper came from her left, filtering through the heavy violins of the Harry Potter soundtrack. "Kendra. Psssst."

Kendra half expected to see Seth when she opened her eyes, and had to bite her tongue when she was met with Bracken's wide, overly-excited silver orbs. She pulled out a headphone to address her boyfriend more directly.

"Yes, Bracken?" Kendra was still fighting laughter at the prince's frantic movements. He was bouncing in his seat like a child, either not seeing or pointedly ignoring Vanessa's glare from the rearview mirror.

"Apparently we're 5 minutes out!" he whispered at her, apparently trying to not disturb Seth, slumbering in the front seat. "Aren't you excited?"

"Eh." Kendra shrugged slightly. "Kinda? I'm nervous."

"You'll be fine, _mija_ ," Vanessa spoke from the front, eyes flicking to meet hers in the mirror. "We've never met a person, in their right, sane, mind who has disliked you."

"It's high school, Vanessa," Kendra deadpanned as they pulled into the spacious, immaculately painted, parking lot. "No one is in their right, sane, mind."

"True enough." She chuckled as she killed the engine, waking Seth up with a start.

"Huzzat?" He snorted and wiped the drool off his chin. "We're here?"

"Yep. Ready to go kill the ladies?" Kendra snickered, ruffling her little brother's already mussed up hair on her way out of the car.

"The only thing I'm gonna kill is the football tryouts," Seth groaned as he clambered out of Vanessa's low-riding lamborghini, stretching his now 5'8" frame. He shut the door and the car automatically locked, the trunk popping open. The three looked around for their driver, but found themselves alone.

"Sneaky blix." Bracken muttered, retrieving his backpack.

"Pretty sure her sneakiness isn't blix related." Kendra soothed, trying to comb the finer bits of prejudice out of the unicorn prince. He grunted in response, handing her her lavender messenger bag.

"Well," Seth started promptly, closing the trunk with a thud. "I'll smell ya later. Don't wanna be seen with the future King and Queen of nerd-dom. Try to stay out of the lockers for your first day!"

As he headed toward the growing conglomeration of students on the football field, Kendra began walking toward the main doors. She turned back once she realized Bracken wasn't coming.

"Brack," she called. "It's ok for _us_ to be seen together, just not with Vanessa." His face lit up and he jogged toward her.

"But then," he gestured behind him. "Why isn't Seth coming?"

"Because," Kendra snorted. "He's a 15 year old boy, with a future spot on the football team, who'd rather be caught dead than with his bookworm of a senior sister." At Bracken's alarmed expression, she softened her words. "It's ok. It's always been like this. We keep to ourselves during school hours, but it doesn't mean we dislike each other. It's natural."

"Huh," Bracken mused. "I was always forced to school and tutor with my sisters, eat with them, play with them, the entire day."

"Ew," Kendra wrinkled her nose. "If I had to spend every day with Seth, I think I'd explode."

They both laughed as they meandered down the halls, trying to find their lockers and beat the first day rush. Since they were driven by Vanessa, they got here ahead of most students. The halls were fairly quiet, and it gave them ample time to scope out their surroundings. The lockers were freshly painted a metallic, sparkling blue. The floors had been polished to perfection. The ceiling was solid, also freshly painted. Kendra adjusted the lapels of her uniform, thinking briefly of her old, worn-down, public school, and tried not to dwell on the niggling voice in the back of her head that hissed _you don't belong here_.

"Kendra," Bracken spoke low, as though any noise louder than his voice would shatter the very air around them. "What would count as out of the ordinary in this school?"

Suddenly, Kendra was vividly aware that they weren't just here to learn; their priority was the mission, and that thought filled Kendra with a surge of importance, and isolation. Once again, she'd be keeping secrets, and lying, but this time, her goal was somewhat more solid. She would be saving her peers, like the heroes in the novels she used to devour. She suppressed a grin.

"Anything that doesn't look posh, polished, or clean," she murmured back, pulling out the slip of paper with her locker number scrawled on it. "C'mon, let's go look for our lockers. I doubt we'll see anything this early in the morning on the first day of school."

' _Or maybe,'_ a small voice in her head whispered. ' _That's the most likely moment you'll see something. It's not as if you've been trained for this.'_ Kendra pushed the voice away once again.

"Lead the way, princess." Bracken winked at her, flashing his dazzling smile, and Kendra was falling all over again. Trying not to blush, she led the way down the hall.

* * *

Vanessa yawned, slugging more of her coffee. Her lab supplies were all set up, her PowerPoint was queued and ready, and she'd gone over her lesson plans for the next month. Today would just be a welcome, and see how everyone felt about getting started straight away. She silently thanked Stan for giving her the AP Biology and Honors Zoology classes. She couldn't have handled a slower pace. Hell, she couldn't handle the already slow morning.

"Damn." she muttered, unscrewing the mug's lid after her third failed sip to see there was no more coffee left.

"Need anything?"

Vanessa jumped almost violently when she heard Warren's voice from the doorway.

"Christ, Warren," she rounded on him, marginally more alert. "You looking to get your shit pushed it?" He held up his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright. I get it. We're on edge," he wandered further into the ultra-modern lab, picking up a striker and playing with it. "You gotta admit, you're more awake now. Also, isn't this Tanu's?"

"We share all lab areas," she grabbed the striker out of his hands, moving it to the chemistry equipment pile Tanu had yet to sort through. "'No Horseplay in the Lab' Warren."

He laughed, loudly and brightly, as she quoted the infamous poster that must be hung in every high school science lab in America. "You're right, Nessa. I'll behave."

"I highly doubt that. And that's Ms. Santoro to you," she glared. "Why are you here? Your classroom is clear across the building." She quirked an eyebrow. "Miss me that much?"

"Cute," he smirked. "But don't flatter yourself. Just wanted to make sure our resident science nerds got their stuff here without explosions."

"Ah," she nodded, retreating to her desk to pull out her laptop. "Well, clearly we did. Satisfied?"

"Never." Warren winked, leaning over the table directly across from her,and Vanessa held his gaze, refusing to look away.

"Goodbye, Mr. Burgess." she bit out, returning her attention to her laptop.

"Til we meet again," she snapped her neck up when she felt his breath ghost her forehead, and nearly jumped at seeing his eyes not an inch from hers. "Vanessa."

He was up and gone from the room before she could correct him. Her never-ending frustration with the younger Burgess filled her, but before she dispel her ire with some quick breathing exercises, Tanu came ambling in from their shared office.

"What was that about?" his eyes twinkled with mirth and far too much knowledge, and Vanessa closed her eyes when she realized Tanu had seen it all.

"I really hate that _coglione,_ " she muttered, before raising her voice to address her colleague. "Nothing, just Warren being himself. Need help with unpacking?"

Tanu let the matter go, but that smug look didn't leave his eyes till they left for the day.

* * *

"What's your first class?" Bracken asked as Kendra shoved her fifth textbook into her hanging locker caddy.

"World History for the first half, then Historical Warfare for my history block."

"Sounds fun," Bracken wrinkled his nose, ever the peaceful diplomat. "I've got Art History, then Comparative Government and Politics."

"That sounds right up your alley," Kendra giggled. "Let me know when you get to that famous french unicorn tapestry."

"Pretty sure that was my uncle," Bracken muttered to himself, and Kendra's bright laugh filled his ears. "No matter. I'm sure it's a lovely portrait."

Kendra's laughter continued until the bell rang, then she sobered up rather quickly and grabbed her bag. "See you in biology then?"

"Ugh," Bracken groaned and rolled his eyes. "She's gonna be smug as hell, but it's a date, love. See you then." He pecked her cheek and took off down the hall. Kendra was still smiling like a fool when she walked into Warren's teacher-less classroom.

As she took her seat in the front, she made small talk with the other students around her. While most of them seemed pretty nice, she could tell they were scoping her out for being the new kid. As the noise level settled at a fairly loud humming, the shut door exploded open, and the resulting bang quieted the students. As a whirl of chestnut hair strode confidently into the room, Kendra fought the grin off her face.

"Good morning everyone!" Warren's voice boomed through the classroom as he threw himself to lean against the stood off to the students' left, smiling wildly. "How has everyone's first 30 minutes of school been?"

As the students managed a quiet, mostly-wary noise of contentment for response, Warren whirled around to scrawl his name on the whiteboard. The last pitiful whine died out, and he spun back around to face them, still grinning like a madman.

"Wow! That was sad, and rude! Let's try again!" Some of the students began to laugh or smile at his clearly sarcastic yet boisterous disposition, and voices began to float up with brief answers on their morning. Warren responded to each.

"Good."

"Do better!" the class laughed.

"Fantastic!"

"You are trying way too hard, my man."

"It was about as well as you'd expect."

"Fair enough, Freckles."

The class was practically howling with laughter. Kendra felt like she'd sat down in an Improv Class, not history. The banter continued on for a fair while longer, before Warren clapped his hands and sat down on his desk.

"Now, this class is split into two halves; World History, a very broad and basic subject, and Historical Warfare, a much more specific track, clearly, but also much more interesting if I do say so myself. All of you are here for World History, not all of you are here for Historical Warfare," he paused here, and flourished his hand. "To which I say, flower-loving pansies, the lot of you."

The class laughed again, though a few now looked wary. Instead of letting this get to him, Warren's smile became more shrewd.

"Now, I am going to say some words, and you are going to hear them. These words, I warn you, are going to be blunt, and possibly rude. So buckle up kids.

"This class, and especially the class after it, are built upon, and rely on, fact. I am not here to discuss the pros and cons of Stalin's facial hair style. I am not sitting here to listen to how you think America should've stayed out of the wars we fought it. I am not here today to hear you gripe about dead people and events you can't change because of ethics, or some shit like that. You want that, pick your ass up and mosey down the hall to Mr. Tunnelbin's debate and politics class," a few students looked ready to do just that. "I am here to tell you what happened, where it happened, why it happened, and how. I'm older than you, and while we are in this room, I am smarter than you. Take me over to the science labs and it's a different situation entirely," a few chuckles. "But my rules are law in here.

"If you have something you think is valuable to the lesson, by all means, raise your hand and share. I am not opposed to listening to you, so long as your words are thought out and beneficial to the lesson. We aren't friends here, but we can be friend _ly_. Huge difference. Now!" Warren clapped his hands again, his smile back in place. "A disclaimer! I will curse, I will tease, I will throw shit around, and we will all get emotional. It's gonna be journey! Now, if you have any issues with anything I have said for personal reasons, come see me after class. I'm a pretty friendly dude, I don't bite." He made brief eye contact with Kendra, who then spent the next minute staring at a smudge on the floor, trying to hold in her laughter again. "And with that, we begin!"

Warren leapt off his desk and let his long legs carry him over to the closet.

"Lesson One: I don't believe in the first day nap period. You've all read the syllabus, or you should've, life sucks if you didn't. Who can tell me what day one is?"

He spun around and pointed without looking and pointed at a nervous looking boy with curly brown hair and a heavy dose of freckles.

"You!"

"Um-I'm-I'm sorry sir, I didn't read-"

"Wow I can't believe how much I don't care! You!"

A bespectacled girl with bright purple hair pulled into a braid regarded him calmly. Kendra was reminded of both Mara and Elise. "Day One: Propaganda Posters."

"Excellent! If I had a sticker I'd give it to you! But stickers are a communist ploy to gain our favor and they don't belong within five feet of my American ass!

The class was once again in stitches, and remained that way until the bell dismissed them from Historical Warfare. Kendra hung behind just long enough to not be suspicious.

"Nice class, American ass." Kendra chuckled as she walked out.

"That's _Mr._ American Ass, shortie!"

* * *

"I don't want to do this." Bracken muttered for the ninth time as they approached the state-of-the-art STEM science classroom.

"Neither do I," Kendra confided in him. "Science was never my best, don't know how I'm going to handle AP."

"Yeah but she likes you."

"She isn't allowed to dislike you yet. Just be a model student and she'll have no choice but to be nice and respectful."

"Hm. I suppose you're right." Bracken conceded as they walked into the classroom half of the rather large room. Kendra once again took a seat in the front. Bracken took the seat behind her.

"Are you seriously using me as a shield?" She craned her neck and a hissed at him as the desks filled with students. Bracken just ducked down further. His tall and built frame dwarfed the seats and Kendra stifled her giggle with a cough. Once the last bell rang, the office door off to the side opened, and Vanessa stepped out. Her hair was pulled up and back in a messy yet tasteful bun, her makeup was done to the nines, and the heels on her feet screamed HBIC. Bracken made a faint noise that might have been a prayer.

"Good morning, class," Vanessa's voice was neutral, void of any accent whatsoever, and the smile she wore was too soft to be legitimate. "I will be your instructor, my name is Ms. Santoro. Now, I hate to get straight to business, but I am afraid we are on a tighter schedule than other classes. I will assume you have all read the syllabus and required summer text, and go right into the discussion."

Kendra glanced around. Most of the students looked nervous about the class, yes, but were also clearly trying to recover from Vanessa's physical appearance. She thought back to her and Seth's first moments with the blix, and smiled secretly to herself.

"Let's see," Vanessa leaned against her front lab table, and cast a cursory glance over the class. "Who can tell me what the 7 most basic characteristics of life are? How about...you." She levelled a finely painted nail right at Bracken.

"Oh fuck me," Bracken muttered before addressing Vanessa. "I am afraid I only remember metabolism, reproduction, and homeostasis." He seemed to brace himself, as if waiting for a scathing comment, but Vanessa simply nodded and moved on to a girl in the back.

"See?" Kendra whispered. "Not so bad."

Before he could respond, Vanessa cleared her throat and looked pointedly at the pair.

"Don't make me separate you two. This isn't middle school, so don't act like it is. I would appreciate it if you could conduct yourselves respectfully while your peers are answering."

Kendra ducked her head, blushing. "Yes, Ms. Santoro." She made sure to level a surly glare at Vanessa before pulling out her notebook. She could have sworn Vanessa softened her professional demeanor for a brief moment before returning her attention to the rest of class.

For the remainder of the time, they went over the trajectory of the course, with Vanessa occasionally asking questions of a more general nature. It wasn't as explosive or entertaining as Warren's class, but by the end Vanessa had established her dry sense of humor and quick sarcasm as the norm. The students, from what Kendra could tell, seemed to respect her and enjoy her teaching. As the bell rang, dismissing Kendra and Bracken to lunch, Vanessa called out.

"Ms. Sanderson? A word if you please."

Kendra almost forgot to stop at the use of her fake name, but remembered just before she reached the door. She held in a sigh as she approached her friend, leaning casually against her table. Bracken lingered by the door.

"Yes, Ms. Santoro?"

"Kendra," Vanessa smiled and dropped her professional persona. "Sorry for having to use you as a teaching moment. I just didn't want the others feeling they could get away with disrespecting one another. I know that was never your intention, but appearances have to be kept up."

Kendra nodded, "I understand, Vanessa."

"We're ok?" Vanessa seemed worried she'd nicked their fragile, still-growing bond, and Kendra didn't blame her. The slope was still slippery.

"Definitely." Kendra smiled, and Vanessa returned it. As she met Bracken at the door and made to leave, their "teacher" called out again.

"Oh, and if His Majesty could finish reading the assigned book that's sitting on the end table outside by the rakes, I'll let his blunder today slide."

"Dammit!" Bracken groaned as they hit the stairwell. Kendra laughed freely for the first time that day, marvelling at how light it felt.

* * *

"Wow. You actually just made me slightly less hungry."

Kendra snorted as Seth looked up at the fairy prince, pulled pork hanging out of his mouth as he devoured the sandwich. Bracken looked ready to vomit.

"Wha? Uh'm hunfry." Seth finished chewing his bite, and viciously tore into the sandwich again.

"We all have gym next? Right?" Kendra double checked.

"Oh my god, Kendra," Seth rolled his eyes and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. Bracken was growing paler by the minute. "Yes. For the millionth time we are all in the same gym. And we will not let you have that public humiliation of gym class alone. Although, I don't know why you're worried. You've muscled up since your freshman year. You'll probably kick everyone else's ass."

"Thanks," Kendra muttered. "I don't know. Just nervous. It's like public speaking, but with your body." Both boys started guffawing, and Kendra rolled her eyes before she let herself join in.

"That," Bracken choked out. "Belongs on a throw pillow." Seth fell into a whole new round of giggles at that.

"Gee, thanks" Kendra wiped her eyes, careful not to smudge her makeup. "If all else fails, I'll be the next Martha Stewart."

As the trio started giggling once again, a tall, built figure cut through the courtyard they were eating in, heading for the designated teacher's eating courtyard. He was deeply tanned, with long hair swept into a low ponytail, held in place by a leather strap. His jaw was well defined, and his dark eyes twinkled with mischief. He was extremely attractive, and looked charming to boot.

"Now, who's that?" Bracken peered at the man, scrutinizing him. "And why is he in such a rush?"

"Dude, chill," Seth tossed his garbage toward the trashcan. It went in. "Some of the teachers don't have as long to eat. He's probably hungry. And relax, I have him for spanish. He's really a cool guy."

"Hm. I guess." Bracken went back to picking at his salad, keeping the man in sight. He tried to shake the lingering paranoia, reminding himself that the man was just another teacher.

* * *

Meanwhile, across the spacious courtyard, Mara, Elise, Vanessa, and Tanu, were all sitting down. They'd been smart enough to bring their own food; Mara didn't trust GMOs, and the rest were too scarred from their high school cafeteria experiences.

"So, how did everyone's first half go?" Tanu asked, biting into his tuna salad with relish.

"I am once again reminded of why I never want children." Mara grumbled.

"Any reason in particular?" Elise quirked an eyebrow. "Or just the general air of teenage angst around here?"

"I have to teach Sex Ed," Mara groaned, dropping her head to her folded hands. "And Drivers Ed. Although for that, I'm just gonna scare them into memorizing the law."

"That's the spirit," Tanu chuckled. "Better yet, have Vanessa come in and regale them with tales of her road safety habits. That'll scare them."

"Oh, screw off," Vanessa muttered, flicking an olive from her salad at the Samoan, who only chuckled as it bounced off his beefy arm. "And hey, at least you don't have to teach a...horse...the more detailed aspects of human anatomy and why it works like it does. He already looks lost, and I don't want to tutor him."

"Oh hell," Mara looked like she'd just witnessed a triple homicide. "I have to teach his highness and his highness' girlfriend to have safe sex. Oh shit. Oh fuck me." Elise and Vanessa couldn't hold in their laughter at her expense. Tanu just grimaced.

"Yeah, you got it worse, _chica_." Vanessa choked out, before resuming her giggling.

Warren plopped down next to her a moment later, looking amused at all their faces.

"Hey, guys," he looked around at them all. "What are we talking about?"

"Kendra and Bracken having safe sex." Elise's giggling doubled up as Warren quickly collected his lunch and left the table, muttering something about going over his slides. Vanessa and Tanu both started laughing again, but composed themselves quickly as another faculty member approached their table.

"Excuse me," he spoke with a heavily Spanish accented voice. "But I was wondering if I could sit here? I'm new to the faculty, and you're the only others here who look even close to my age."

The man was tall, and smiled shyly at them all, though his gaze seemed confident and kind. Tanu scooted closer to Mara, and Vanessa closer to Elise to make room for the lanky man.

" _Gracias, mi amigos,"_ he smiled in relief, sitting down heavily. "My name's Romeo Martinez. I'm the new Spanish teacher."

"Nice to meet you, Romeo," Tanu smiled, and offered his hand to the young man. "I'm Tanugatoa Dufu. But you can call me Tanu. I'm the new Chemistry instructor."

"I'm Elise, one of the art teachers here." Elise spoke next, offering a jaunty wave, and Romeo smiled at her red streaked hair and paint flecked hands.

"I'm Mara Tabares, a P.E. teacher and coach here." Mara's words were minced, her walls up around this stranger.

"Nice to meet you, Romeo," Vanessa extended her hand, and he grasped it warmly with his own. "My name is Vanessa Santoro. I'm the new Biology teacher here."

"Ah!" Romeo's eyes lit up, and he had yet to let go of her hand. "Santoro? _Italiano?_ "

" _Si,_ _español también."_ She spoke warily. Romeo continued to hold her hand and gaze at her unerringly, so with as much tact as she could manage, Vanessa removed her hand from his to check her phone. She noted that she had 10 minutes before her next class, so with a smile and a heavy glance at Tanu, she beat a hasty retreat to her office. Romeo left a few moments later, citing a need to go over his plans before the seniors came in.

"Well," Elise snickered once he was out of earshot. "That was subtle."

* * *

Kendra didn't think she could be any more tired than she already was. She, Bracken, and Seth were sat outside on the porch doing their homework assignments, or in Bracken's case, finishing their summer homework assignments. Seth was slurping loudly on his lemonade, and flicking lazily through his first chapter of his physics book, occasionally marking down notes. Kendra was flipping through the last chapter of Pride and Prejudice, her last book for her AP English summer reading. She had thoroughly adored it, and spent many an afternoon gushing over Mr. Darcy with her grandmother or Elise.

Kendra noted the sun setting over the trees, and was just starting to feel the slightest bit drowsy, when the screen door slapped open to reveal Warren. His white button down was now completely untucked, and he had lost all footwear whatsoever.

"You guys ready for dinner? Nessa and Mara made spaghetti, it smells bomb."

Seth was up before Warren had even finished the first question. Bracken shut his book with relief, but brought it and the highlighter along with him as he trekked inside, still not done. Kendra absorbed the last line of her novel, and let it snap shut with a feeling of deep satisfaction. Warren ruffled her hair as she walked past, and swatted him away lazily as she crossed into the kitchen. Once she had taken her normal seat across from Bracken, her hunger became more apparent.

As the family wolfed down the dinner, Grandpa made inquiries to how all their days had gone. Soon, the room was filled with the familiar laughter that came with the group's stories. Kendra regaled the table with tales of Warren's first lesson, prompting even Mara and Trask to choke on their food.

"My American ass, good Lord Warren!" Trask cackled away.

She couldn't believe Bracken laughed when Vanessa confided in him that he looked ready to shit himself when she called on him, and they both laughed when she also confessed she had heard his muttered oath before answering.

"It took everything I had to keep my composure, I swear."

Seth had the whole table in stitches with his story of striking out the best kicker in his grade in gym class, Mara, Bracken, and Kendra contributing their own perspectives of how the kid looked ready to "sell Seth's first born to Satan for a cornchip."

As they all cleaned up, Kendra noticed that everyone seemed in better spirits than ever before. Mara and Elise were flirting more openly than ever, whether they knew it or not. Bracken and Vanessa were having a non-hostile discussion over the summer reading, with Warren chiming in now and again. Seth and Trask were talking about upcoming football tryout.

"It's because we all have something in common now," Tanu's voice spoke from behind her, making Kendra jump as she turned to face him. "We are all clearly on the same side, with a fresh start, taking on a new experience together. Amazing how such a small thing can mean so much, huh?"

"Yeah," Kendra smiled at the scene before her, of her family. "Amazing."

Later on in the night, Grandpa called them all into his study to go over what they had seen that day. Kendra assumed this was going to be a regular occurrence, and insisted they have hot chocolate to make it somewhat more enjoyable.

As they all made themselves comfortable on the plush furniture in Grandpa's room, Kendra noticed Bracken's features were drawn into a tight frown. He was concentrating hard on something, and once they were all comfortable, he raised his voice to address the room.

"Stan, if I may begin, I think I saw kind of, well, a suspicious character at lunch today. A man."

"Really now," Stan leaned forward in his chair. "And what did he look like?"

"Tall," Bracken said, gazing off at the wall to focus. "Tan, dark hair in a pony tail. Dark blue shirt, dark eyes, part of a tattoo that ended on the back of his neck-"

"Romeo?" Mara and Vanessa spoke at the same time.

"Yeah!" Seth sprung up. "My Spanish teacher. In his defense, he's a pretty cool guy. I didn't pick up anything weird from him."

"Neither did I." Vanessa said, Elise nodding with her.

"Eh," Mara shrugged. "A pretty boy, for sure, not sure about evil."

Bracken shrugged himself, clearly annoyed no one sided with him. "Like I said, it was just a feeling."

"And just because the Magical Mr. Ed has a feeling," Vanessa sneered at him. "We're all supposed to automatically agree-"

"I never said that!" Bracken's temper flared.

"You didn't have to-"

"Enough!" Warren yelled, running a hand through this hair. He looked exhausted and frustrated beyond belief. "Save it for training, you two. My god, it never ends!"

Both blix and unicorn sank into the furniture, silent but fuming.

"Any other reports?" Stan sighed.

"Well," Tanu shifted. "There were some particularly unnerving boys in my first session

chemistry class, but I'm not sure I'd call them suspicious. Rude, would be better. I think their little leader's name was Trent. Or Brad. Something absurd like that."

Seth was smirking. "Yeah, Tanugatoa. Something absurd." Tanu laughed outright at that. "Those guys are in the year above me. They suck. They're in my art block with Elise."

"Language, young man." Grandpa admonished. Seth just managed to catch his eye roll.

"Oh, those guys messed up my paint setup within 20 minutes of the first bell!" Elise scowled. "Bunch of toe-rags."

"I mean, if we're bringing up potentially douche-y kids," Warren stretched, avoiding Stan's glare neatly. "There's a real piece of work in my Global Warfare class. Sits perpendicular to Kendra, didn't acknowledge me once. Too busy texting. Don't like her."

"That blonde girl?" Kendra piped up. "With the heavy purple eyeshadow?

She watched Vanessa gag out of the corner of her eye and stifled a giggle. Trask spoke up.

"That young lady is in my criminology class. I believe her name is Brittany Favre."

"Seriously?" Mara muttered. "Brittany?"

"She was rather disrespectful to me as well." Trask pressed on. "Not sure about suspicious, but someone we should look out for. Seems like the type to enjoy precious information."

"Kendra, Seth, Bracken, be mindful of what you say around this girl or any of her friends. Or anyone really. Unfortunately, you are all in the most dangerous positions. You will hear the most information, and you have the greatest chances of being unpleasantly surprised. Be vigilant at all times, and do not trust anyone or anything." Grandpa said gravely. The trio nodded in understanding, and silence descended on the room. It wasn't pleasant, or warm, like the moments at the table. The air was heavy around them, filled with unspoken words and concerns. Kendra felt more edge than she had in weeks, and gripped her empty mug with white knuckles.

"Well," Warren clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "On that cheery note, I think it's time for bed."

* * *

 **I'll have you all know this was the longest chapter I've ever written. Never again, man. Never again.**


	3. Friday Night Frights

**Gonna apologize in advance. Sort of.**

* * *

Kendra tugged the top half of her uniform into place, twisting this way and that in the mirror to ensure it was fitting right. She smiled to herself, pulling her long hair into a tight high ponytail. The deep royal blue of her uniform brought out her eyes just right, and the gold accents did wonders for her complexion. And even though she was only a spy, she felt a small thrill of pride when she saw the Cavaliers team name sprawling across her diaphragm.

Now if only she could bring the skirt down a little more.

"Kendra!" Seth's voice was just outside the door. "You ready to- what the hell are you wearing?"

"My cheer uniform," she replied, nonplussed by her brother's incredulous tone. She had worked too damn hard to be ashamed of her uniform or her body. "What are you wearing? It's got a stain on the front."

"Damn it," Seth grumbled, looking down at his blue JV football jersey. "Whatever. Why are you wearing your uniform? The game isn't until tonight, dork."

"No duh, dweeb," she sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's mandatory for the cheer team's Varsity to wear the uniforms in school whenever there's a game we have to go to later."

"You made Varsity?" Seth couldn't have yelled louder if he tried. "How?"

"I used to cheer before, remember? And I'm also, y'know, good."

"Well, yeah, but, Varsity?" His jaw was having a hard time staying closed. "That's wicked insane! Way to go, dude!"

"Thanks," Kendra smiled, basking in one her brother's rare supportive moments. "Give it a year and you'll be there, too." She grabbed her messenger bag off her bed, slipping into her white flats as she brushed past Seth.

"A year? Psh!" he flexed exaggeratedly as he shut the attic door. "More like a month. Just wait till we go up against Southern! They have this line backer…"

Kendra smiled and rolled her eyes as her brother dove into one of his infamous football monologues, only stopping to greet Bracken and tease mercilessly him over making the Debate team. The young prince had a witty retort on the tip of his tongue, but it died as Kendra rounded the corner.

"Kendra?" His voice sounded strangled, confused, and very happy all at once.

"Dude," Seth muttered. "If your eyes get any wider they're gonna fall out of your head. Also that's my sister."

"Seth, Vanessa needs you in the kitchen." Kendra deadpanned.

"I didn't hear anything."

"Seth!" Vanessa called. "Get your ass in the kitchen, now. This math test you bombed still needs to be discussed." As Seth grumbled and trudged away, Kendra slid closer to Bracken, who had yet to recover his use of speech.

"So, I made the cheer team."

"Yes," he murmured, eyes straining to stay on hers. "I can see that."

"You can, um, look, y'know if you want." Kendra fought a blush off her cheeks.

"I don't want to ogle you like a troll. You're a princess. My princess. I wouldn't dare defame you with sleaze."

"Yeah, but it's not sleaze," Kendra picked at a non existent thread. "Not if it's you. I'm just saying, I wouldn't mind if you looked. It's like having a secret. No one knows, except us." Her neck was flushed now. "And I kind of like the idea."

"If you're sure." Bracken tentatively placed his hands low on her hips, and leaned in the place a kiss on her crown.

"I am," Kendra stepped back as the voices in the kitchen started shifting closer. "And besides, it's not like I don't do it to you when we're training." Before Bracken could collect himself enough to answer, she threw a wink at him and sashayed out the door.

* * *

Kendra smiled as Warren wrapped up his lecture on the Spartans, moving away from where he'd illustrated the horrors of the Trojan War on the whiteboard, using Expo markers as his medium. She pulled out her phone to take a picture to send to Elise.

"Ready for tonight?" Kendra looked up from her messages to see Brittany Favre standing over her. She'd been a nightmare to deal with at practice and try-outs, constantly trying to trip Kendra up or make her look bad. Up close, her eyeshadow was even tackier.

"Um, yeah, I guess," she tried a tentative smile, not wanting to give the girl a rude impression. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"Hm, yeah," Brittany narrowed her eyes, her face now resembling some kind of crone. "I hope for the team's sake that that means you're prepared. You're one of the flyers tonight. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how much that means."

"No, you don't," Kendra dropped any pretense of kindness, and pushed her way to her feet. "I'm ready, provided you don't drop me." Just as the other girl opened her mouth to reply, the bell rang. Kendra collected her notebook, slung her bag over her shoulder, and got the hell out of dodge. She was so intent on putting distance between herself and Brittany that she ran clear into Bracken.

"Oof!" He caught her round the waist as she slammed into his chest, saving them both from going down. "You alright, princess?"

"Yeah," Kendra huffed, blowing a fly away out of her eyes. "Just one of those days."

"Ah," Bracken tugged her out of the flow of student traffic, against the lockers across from Warren's room. As they settled into a crevice, his hands dipped lower on her body, coming rest _very_ low on her hips. "Anything I can do to make it any better?"

Any response Kendra might have had was cut off by a rather angry clearing of a throat.

"I think you two are going to be late to class, Adrian, Adalyn," The two sprung apart and turned to find Warren looming over them, looking anything but happy. "And you, Mr. Haverford," he leveled a finger at Bracken. "Will be spending your early dismissal period helping me organize files in the library. Now go."

Kendra and Bracken nodded and scurried away, all but flying away to Biology. As they settled into their seats, Kendra shifted to look at him. It took all of two seconds for her to dissolve into giggles and him to blush.

"I can't believe our luck."

" _Our_ luck?" Kendra snorted. "My luck is fine. You actually touched me, and I don't have detention."

"At least you're laughing." He sighed, but smiled nonetheless. Kendra tried to return it, but a rock had settled in the pit of her stomach. A sudden feeling had entered her mind, and it didn't make sense until she kissed Bracken goodbye for his detention.

* * *

"You know the drill for the game tonight?"

"Yes Vanessa," Kendra sighed, swiping her fry through her chocolate milkshake. "Keep a lookout whenever I'm not performing. Catalogue any weird activity. Do not stop cheering if something goes wrong. Don't fall to my death. Don't flash the crowd. Don't cut a bitch."

"Yeah," Vanessa snorted. "That's it. More or less. I personally endorse cutting every bitch but-"

"No!" Warren and Bracken chorused.

"I'll be fine guys, really." Kendra stared out the window of the diner they were hanging out in, watching the expensive and shiny cars of the departing students pass.

"You're moping." Warren spoke around the burger in his mouth.

"Yeah, well," Kendra looked over at him and scowled. "You kind of ruined my day, Warr."

"Kens," Warren tossed down his burger and stared at her incredulously. Bracken and Vanessa glanced at each other and shifted nervously. "I was doing my job, both as your older cousin and teacher-"

"Oh my god," Kendra rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up. "You aren't actually a teacher, dude! Grandpa fabricated your degree!"

"Be that as it may," he frowned. "I am in charge of your well being, so therefore-"

"I can look after myself, Warren!" Kendra exploded. "I don't need you to police my relationship. Oh my god, we weren't even doing anything! You totally overstepped your boundaries as a teacher and cousin, and embarrassed me! It was totally unfair!"

"What? Wait," Vanessa held up a hand. "What happened?"

"Bracken touched Kendra-"

"Warren interrupted-"

The cousins spoke at the same time, but closed their mouths to glare at each other. Bracken spoke in their stead, addressing Vanessa softly.

"Kendra and I were, um, being somewhat intimate in the hallway, and Warren came over and told us to go to class. And then he gave me a detention." He was rather silver in the face when he finished, blushing hard under Vanessa's incredulous gaze. "It wasn't like we were- I mean we weren't- I just-"

"Oh my god." Vanessa murmured softly, still staring hard at Bracken, then switching her gaze to Kendra, who met her eyes unflinchingly. Lastly, she turned to the man sitting next to her.

"You gave him detention?" Her tone was unidentifiable.

"Yeah, I did," Warren puffed his chest out. "And the next time-"

"Estúpido idiota!" Vanessa exclaimed, turning to face him before slamming her fist into his shoulder. Before Warren could even manage an "ow", Vanessa was yelling at him entirely in Spanish. Kendra couldn't understand more than a few sentences, and Bracken looked entirely lost, but Warren went from incredulous to furious to shocked to genuinely upset. He was staring hard at the table by the time Vanessa calmed down enough to switch back to English.

"Just because she is your cousin does not mean you can police her body and her decisions. Trust her, trust _him_ -" she paused and jammed a finger at Bracken. "-and respect them and their relationship. They'd do the same for you."

Before Warren could answer, Vanessa rose from the booth and tossed enough money on the table to cover the tab. She turned, and held a hand out to Bracken.

"C'mon Wonder Boy, let's leave these two to their unavoidable, life-changing conversation," at his skeptical glance at her hand, she rolled her eyes. "I promise I'll behave. After all, it's not like I bite." Bracken actually snorted at that and grabbed her hand, letting her pull him up. They left the diner in an amicable silence, leaving the two cousins to deal with the heavy atmosphere between them.

"Kendra," Warren sighed, speaking after a minute of silence. "I'm sorry. I really am. I just-" he sighed again, massaging his temples and reaching across the table with his free hand to grab hers. "Sometimes, it's really hard to deal with you growing up. I'm so used to being your protector on missions, and in danger, that it's difficult to adjust to you not needing me so much."

"Yeah, well," Kendra pulled her hand from his. "I'm still mad at you. Do you know how hard it is to get a minute alone at Fablehaven?"

"Yes." he muttered.

"Then you should have known better. It was humiliating, Warren, it really was. I'll be lucky if Bracken touches me again in the next year. And that may sound great to you, but not to me. There's nothing wrong with me wanting to be intimate with a man I love and trust. Physical closeness, and, yes, _sex_ , isn't a sin. I know you agree with me from an objective standpoint, just not as my cousin. And that's fine, but you need to respect my relationship, like Vanessa said."

"I know," Warren sighed. "I'm sorry, Kendra. I'll make this up to you, I promise. Just promise not to put me in such a difficult position next time? Maybe find a janitors' closet? I know they don't use the one in the west wing of the third floor much." He tried a tentative smile, and let it blossom into a grin when she smiled back. He rose from the table, offering her a hand to help her out of the booth.

"I should be getting back to school," Kendra sighed, leaning into her cousin's side as he threw an arm over her shoulders. "It's almost time for the game."

"Yeah, you're right. Want a piggy back ride?" he sounded hopeful, and Kendra wanted to agree, but found that she couldn't.

"Maybe another time, Warren." his smile dimmed slightly, but he nodded in understanding. Things had settled, but they weren't quite right yet. He could only hope they would be again soon.

* * *

" _ **And that's a Cavaliers** **-**_ "

"FIRST DOOOWN!"

The music pumping over the speakers vibrated through Kendra's bones, pushing her adrenaline to new highs. The last time she was this nervous, she was taking down a Demon King. Logically, she shouldn't be this afraid of a mere cheer performance.

And yet.

"Hey, Sanderson!" Kendra whipped around at the use of her phony last name. "You ready? We're about to head on the field. We wait any longer and the band's gonna get pissy. Let's go, line up!" Kendra nodded, and jogged forward to join the rest of her team on the sidelines. The stands grew quiet as the football team jogged off the field, slapping asses and shoulders, and the announcer crackled to life over the stadium sound system.

"And now, taking the field for the first time this year, the award-winning State Champion Cheer Team, the Cranford Preparatory Academy Cavaliers! Led by Varsity Captain Jenine McDonald, and Team Coaches Katherine Tetens and Miranda Pennings, the Cavaliers have won County title six years running, State title four years running, and came in fourth at Nationals for the past three years. Let's go Cavaliers!"

Kendra felt the now-familiar music wash through her and cloud her inhibitions. She took a deep breath-

And let go.

* * *

"Whoa!" Warren exclaimed, watching Kendra fly through the air for the third time. "That's insane!"

"Holy crap," Elise murmured. "It's gotten so much complicated since my days."

"You cheered?" Mara sounded shocked.

"Hell no," Elise snorted. "But I did go to all the games. The woods behind my school had the best Pot Spots."

"I can't believe you called them that." Trask chuckled.

"Shit!" Tanu swore quietly, watching three girls, including Kendra, get thrown up in the air again, each executing a split before being caught. "I'd die if I had to do anything remotely like that."

"Incredible," Vanessa murmured. "The last time she cheered she was half her own height and now she's being flung bodily through the air."

"Don't remind me." Warren murmured, eyes glued to his younger relative. Vanessa glanced at him, then tentatively grabbed his hand, threading their fingers together. When he looked at her, her eyes were set firmly ahead at the team, but the flush on her neck had little to do with the cold. He turned back, but held on to her.

He squeezed every time Kendra went into the air.

* * *

Kendra felt her stomach do a flip as she went head over heels herself. The air was nipping at her mostly exposed skin, and she couldn't quite see straight. She felt hands grab her once more, holding her tightly as the music dipped and throbbed for a second. As the beat stuttered and jumped up again, though, the hands pushed her back up, her legs assisting out of their own accord.

As she went flying back through the cold night, Kendra briefly entertained the thought of flight. Up here, it felt like nothing could touch her, harm her, hurt her. To live in a suspended state, not falling or flying, the edge of adrenaline living permanently in your veins. Kendra let this train of thought go as she went hurtling back toward the earth. As the hands caught her again, her senses came rushing back to her. Her feet were planted on the chunked up earth, and the roaring of the crowd came back to her. She grinned as her teammates helped her off the field, her legs felt like jelly under her and she was dizzier than she could ever believe possible. Once she reached the sidelines, her team swarmed around her, embracing her and congratulating her.

Kendra had never been happier.

* * *

"Ok, you two," Mara nodded at Warren and Vanessa as they climbed off the bleachers. "Go see how the Student Council is doing with the snack stand."

"That's gotta be the worst code for 'go scope out a potential magical drug situation' I've ever heard." Warren laughed as he and Vanessa walked in the opposite direction of Mara and Elise.

" _Cállate_ , you," Vanessa admonished, even though she was smiling softly. They walked casually around the field, straying slightly to the shadows to listen for lurking students, and hide their, once again, interlocked hands. "Warren, what are we doing?"

"Looking for the bad guys, a la Scooby Doo."

"Well, Jinkies," Vanessa smiled as he laughed. "You know what I mean, though."

"I'm holding your hand."

"Yes."

"Vanessa," he stopped walking and she turned to face him. "You know what I want. I've told you, I've asked you, you've told me and asked me to wait. Do you want it now? Will you ever? I need to know."

"Yes, I do, of course I do. But Warren...we shouldn't. You know that." she looked sad and torn, and he pulled her closer in the darkness, pressing her body to his with the hands splayed across her back.

"Then trust me, and us. Isn't that what you yelled about earlier? Trust yourself. Please, Nessa." he whispered against her ear. He reveled in the way she shivered. Her mouth was now dangerously close to his, and his senses were pleasantly muddled. He inhaled the heady scent of her rose perfume, and leaned the extra inch to her mouth.

Before either could register the kiss, they were slammed into violently. They grabbed each other before they lost their balance entirely, but broke apart to see a dark, hulking figure sprinting across the lower soccer field. Warren turned back toward her, senses now painfully alert.

"Go, Vanessa, get the others," she looked ready to protest, but he grabbed her by the shoulders to hold her attention. "You're faster than me, Santoro. We don't have time. Go, I'll be ok. I promise. Just go!" He pushed her in the direction of the bleachers.

"Be careful, Warren! Please." she begged him with her wide eyes, and he felt himself nod before he pivoted and took off at a dead sprint. He was halfway across the dark field before he saw the man again. He was climbing the rocks beyond the goalie net, crossing into the thick forest that lay past the school boundaries. Warren put on some extra speed, and took a flying leap onto the figure's back, grabbing him in a hold around his neck before throwing his body weight backwards. They both fell the four feet to the ground, Warren taking the guys weight on top of him.

The air was knocked clear out of him, and before Warren could even begin to get his bearings, the man was upon him. He was wearing a dark mask, the only holes in it over his glittering black eyes. There was a flash of silver in Warren's peripheral, and then a small explosion and burning pain in his lower right abdomen. He bit his tongue to stay silent before he bared his teeth and grabbed the man's neck. He managed to wrestle the masked figure beneath him, and swiftly broke his nose, but before he could do any more, he was thrown off onto his stomach. As he struggled to get up on his hands, a blade gouged his back from left shoulder to right hip. This time, he screamed.

While his senses were still foggy from pain, his head was yanked back by the hair, the blade pressed against his neck

"Go ahead," Warren snarled. "Kill me. I'll be your personal pain in the ass as a ghost. Creaky doors, poor cable reception, all that shit."

"Ha!" the man's voice was deep and melodic, and Warren committed it to memory. "You are witty. Unfortunately, that won't help you now. No, Burgess, you will _suffer_. And then the prince will suffer. And then your fairy princess will suffer. And then your blix bitch will suffer. You're just the beginning."

Warren was now struggling furiously, survival instinct for himself and his family taking over. He kicked and spit and lashed out, but the man seemed to be everywhere at once. Distantly, he could hear pandemonium and fighting, and even further, sirens. However, it was soon blocked out by the man's rancid breath as he dripped verbal poison into his mind. And as the blade carved into his torso over and over, Warren screamed.

* * *

"Adalyn!" Bracken was shouting, pushing through his schoolmates to get to the field. "Adalyn, where are you!"

It was utter chaos. Students were yelling, crying, running, being trampled. The gunshots had gone off seconds after the Cavaliers had scored the winning touchdown. At first, the students had thought they were victory cannons, until the screaming started. Bracken had just gotten off the bleachers when the first tendrils of acrid metal had touched the back of his tongue; dark magic, and from a powerful source.

The prince now tried desperately to block out the negative energy, the fear, and the dark magic that threatened to overwhelm him. He had to find his princess. The students pelting off the field in the opposite direction as him, though, were making that a challenge.

"Kend-Adalyn, please answer!" Bracken was desperate now. If anything had happened to her, if any harm had befallen her, he would kill. He would slay. He would-

"Adrian? Adrian!" He spun around so hard he was dizzy, just in time to catch Kendra as she hurled herself into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her fiercely, taking a moment among the madness to clutch her to him. She was safe. They were ok.

"Come, Adalyn," he pulled back slightly to look past her. "I think I see Mara and Elise. We have to get to them. We have to get out of the open."

"No!" She pulled him back. "This is dark magic, right? We need to stay out here, in the lights. We have the advantage here, if anything happens."

He started, momentarily shocked and proud of her clear thinking, before nodding. He closed his eyes, sending a brief mental message to everyone to gather in the middle of the field.

Seth was the last one to reach the field, and he and Kendra hugged tightly before they all came together.

"As far as I can tell," Tanu spoke first, sporting a large bruise on his neck. "The threat has passed. It was really all just smoke and mirrors, I think. There are no bodies, no one is injured."

"It was just a fear factor moment?" Mara sounded skeptical.

"We can't be sure-"

"Guys," Bracken turned to face Vanessa, who sounded more frightened than he had ever heard. "Where's Warren?"

They all looked around, realizing quickly that their bold adventurer was nowhere in sight, nor was he racing to meet them.

"I'm sure he's-"

Before Trask could finish the sentence, Vanessa was sprinting across the field, into the shadows that covered the soccer field below. Kendra was hot on her heels. Bracken glanced at the remaining group before taking off after the girls, the rest of the group following.

They found them moments later, when twin screams alerted them to the space behind the goalie net.

"Tanu! Tell me you have healing potions!"

Tanu sprinted ahead of the rest of them, putting on a shocking amount of speed. As they neared the group, Bracken let his skin shine brightly, becoming a human lantern. Once he reached the group, though, and saw a sobbing Kendra being held by a sobbing Vanessa, and a frantic Tanu leaning over a body, and more blood than he wanted to fathom, he wished he'd staying dim.

* * *

 **So...yeah.**


	4. Calm in the Eye

**Forgot to mention, but clearly we don't own Fablehaven. That's for Mull. Nor do we speak spanish. Nor do we own the creative properties of SNL or Bill Hader. On that note, shoutout to anyone who can spot the SNL reference. Have fun with this filler fluff chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 4:

Kendra was numb. Horribly, pathetically numb. She stood in the kitchen, wearing her fuzzy pj pants and and a tank top, holding her once-blue cheer uniform in her hands. She shook her head, trying to clear the fog from her mind as she turned on the cold water in the sink and grabbed the wire brush from the counter. She leaned against the counter, settling in for the long haul as she started to try to remove the blood from the front of her uniform. The water slowly began turning red, and as it swirled counterclockwise in the basin, Kendra was helpless to stop the onslaught of flashbacks.

" _I've staunched the blood!" Bracken's voice came from her left. "Tanu, Trask, help me pick him up-NO KENDRA! Don't look! Vanessa grab her!"_

Kendra didn't notice her grip tightening on the brush handle.

" _Vanessa, I never thought I'd say this, but speed up! I can't get the cuts to stay closed. Seth, hand me more rags."_

" _Kendra, eyes on the road with me. Don't turn around."_

The water in the sink was turning darker than the dull pink of dried blood. Her vision was foggy, and shaky. Her ears were filled with cotton.

" _Kendra, please! Don't come in here! He wouldn't want-"_

Somewhere behind her, a voice was shouting. The water was running ruby. Her knuckles were white. Her arm was sore.

" _Oh mi querido Jesús. Dios mío, por qué?"_

 _Warren's torso was ravaged. Where the skin wasn't pink and lumpy with exposed tissue, it was red with blood. His face was white as ice, and his chest was not moving with inhalation. As Bracken and Vanessa mopped up the blood, the cuts began to take shape. They were words, of some old and lost, but clearly harsh and dark language. Runes, of some breed. There were symbols as well, along with some deep, harsh cuts that were clearly borne of vexation. Warren had put up a fight at least._

" _Kendra, you need to leave. Kendra? Kendra, can you hear me?"_

"Kendra!"

She jolted violently, dropping the brush into the sink. She felt like she was waking up out of a dream, or a nightmare, rather. As she got her bearings, she saw Bracken had joined her, and was looking distinctly horrified. Kendra looked back down at the sink, and understood.

The skin of her knuckles was all but gone. She was bleeding heavily into the sink, and the water was red as a rose. Her uniform would have been clean, but her fresh blood had seeped in. She tried to breathe, but found her nose was running. Reaching up to clear it, she noticed her whole face was wet. She'd been crying. Bracken took the uniform from her hand, gently nudging her away from the sink.

"I'll finish this up."

"But-"

"Kendra." She turned, and saw Mara, Elise, and Vanessa in the doorway. The latter woman looked five years older than she was, and her eyes were red and puffy like Kendra's most certainly were.

"Let's get you cleaned up." Mara spoke, and Elise held out a hand. Kendra walked shakily toward the women and grasped her friend's paint-flecked hand. They led her down the hall to Vanessa's room, and into the attached bathroom. As she settled on the toilet's lid, Mara and Elise rested their hands on her shoulder, nodded sympathetically at Vanessa, and departed.

"Let us know if you need us, Van." Mara murmured as she passed through the door. As they left, Kendra noticed Mara wrap an arm around Elise's shoulder. Normally loud and larger-than-life with her multicolored hair and wardrobe, the young agent now seemed defeated and tired as she leaned against the older Hopi woman.

" _Aci, mija_." Vanessa pulled a stool up to sit in front of Kendra, holding a wet cloth in one hand. She set first aid supplies down beside them, and held out a waiting hand. Kendra let her bleeding one fall into her palm, and held in a wince as Vanessa started working the cloth over her knuckles.

"I'm using a numbing balm, too. The stinging should fade in a bit."

Kendra nodded, finding her vocal cords weren't working. Vanessa seemed to accept this, and the two fell into a silence, broken only when the cloth had to be re-wet. As the minutes wore on, Kendra began to notice the blood spots on her pants, left behind by her dripping hand. Before she could register her own emotions, her eyes were clouding with tears and her lips were trembling.

"Kendra?" Vanessa dropped the cloth and grabbed her face in gentle hands. "Kendra, look at me. Does something else hurt? What's wrong?"

"These are my favorite pajama pants." And then the dam broke. Kendra fell forward, grasping Vanessa around the shoulder desperately. This wasn't like the tears on the field, born of disbelief and hysteria, or at the sink, when she was so relieved and confused at the same time. Now she was angry, and sad, and it threatened to swallow her whole.

"Sh, hush Kendra, it's ok." Vanessa held her closely, rocking slightly as she ran her nails gently along Kendra's back. "What are you feeling? Can I help?"

"I, I'm so, _angry_ ," she hiccupped, turning her head into Vanessa's neck. "I'm hurt and upset and angry and sad. And I, I, _I don't know what to do, Vanessa. What am I supposed to do?"_

"Oh, Kendra," Vanessa's own tears were dripping onto Kendra's skin. "Honey, I think we all forget how young you are. And I think you do, too. What you are feeling is normal," she pulled back to look Kendra in the eyes. "You have just been through an incredibly stressful situation. You are having an anxiety attack. And it's _okay._ It means you are healthy, and aware. You don't always have to feel good, and your emotions won't always make sense to you. But we all still love you, and we will never let you go through it alone. "

Kendra had stopped crying, but still felt incredibly lost, and she must have looked it. Vanessa sighed, picked up her supplies, and set them on the sink. She walked back over to Kendra, and shocked her by picking her up. When she started, Vanessa chuckled.

"Kendra, you aren't heavy in the slightest. Besides, it's 3 am. Are you ok staying in here tonight? I don't think either of us should be alone." Kendra nodded, and fell back against the large bed when Vanessa set her down. As she set about getting ready for bed, Kendra curled up in the heavy knitted quilt on the bed and let her thoughts cloud her mind. By the time Vanessa climbed into bed, Kendra's pulse was racing and she was in a cold sweat.

" _Aye primo,_ you need to calm down."

"I don't know how." Kendra admitted.

"Ok," Vanessa sighed, making herself comfier, and draped an arm over Kendra. "Picture a bookshelf. Now, organize that bookshelf by events. Work on the rest later, or whenever you need to calm down. But for now, store what happened today in the book closest to you, working backwards."

"How does this help?" Kendra was confused all over again. Nonetheless, she started working on doing what Vanessa had instructed.

"Keeps your thoughts organized, and out of the front of your mind. Think of it like the backroom at Footlocker that employees disappear into."

Kendra laughed for the first time in what felt like years, and Vanessa gave in seconds later.

"Now, you work on doing that," Vanessa said as Kendra turned toward her and tangled their legs together. "And I'll do the same. We'll be asleep in no time."

"Thanks Vanessa, for always being there and stuff."

"Making up for lost time, right?" Kendra nodded, and Vanessa let her arm flop over the younger girl's frame. "Always wanted a younger sister anyway. So thank you, _mija_. Now, sleep."

Kendra nodded, burrowed deeper under the quilt, and began organizing her thoughts. Eventually, her mind was exhausted, and empty, and she drifted off to sleep as the clock hit 4 am.

* * *

By the time Kendra woke up, Vanessa was gone and had made her side of the bed. She rolled over and checked the clock, and immediately leapt out of bed. It was 2:30 in the afternoon. Her day should have started hours ago. As she leapt around, pulling on the clothes Vanessa left her, her thoughts flew to Warren and his status. Kendra abandoned her quest to find her other sock and sprinted from the bedroom to the spare room where her cousin was being kept.

"Is he okay?" Kendra was speaking before she even entered the room. "Is he awake, are his wounds healed, is he-"

"Whoa, Kens," a raspy voice interrupted. "I'm doing just fine."

Warren was sitting up in bed, shirtless save for the gauze over his wounds. Vanessa and Seth were there, the latter sitting on the bed, her brother leaning against the wall. Her cousin looked tired, and sickly, and very pale, but his eyes were gleaming with their usual mirth, and Kendra relaxed a smidge.

"C'mon, Seth," Vanessa rose from the bed's edge, nodding to the boy. "Let's give these two the time they need."

"Come by later?" Warren called, looking at Vanessa hopefully.

"If you behave and drink all your potion." Vanessa winked and laughed as Warren made a face, and squeezed Kendra's shoulder as she passed. Kendra took Vanessa's place on the edge of the bed, grabbing Warren's hand between her own.

"I found you first you know," she spoke after a beat, her voice sounding too loud to her own ears. "First time I wished I couldn't see in the dark."

"I'm so sorry, Kendra," Warren kept his eyes on the far wall. "You never should have seen that."

"No, I shouldn't have," at Warren's surprised look, she forced herself to push on. "You should have been more careful, Warren. You should have kept Vanessa with you. You should have waited. You shouldn't have tackled him and compromised yourself. You should have been smarter. "

"You're right Kendra. And I'm sorry. For everything these past few days. I kinda suck."

"Yeah," she sighed. "You do. But it's ok. I still love you."

"Love you, too, Kens," Warren pulled her to him gingerly, and wrapped her in a bear hug. Kendra hugged him back tightly, but not enough to squeeze the fresh scars. She pulled back after a minute, eyes on his chest.

"So what happened after I was strong-armed out of the room?" she tried to keep the bitterness out of her tone, but failed horrible. Warren quirked a brow, beckoning her to continue. "I don't know. I just don't think it was fair that I had to leave and Seth was allowed to stay. I could have helped, it would have been good healing experience. I don't think it was fair."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know they made you leave. I wasn't in much of a state to argue your defense, but you know I would've," Warren said. Kendra nodded, accepting his response and making a mental note to talk to Bracken later. Warren continued his story. "Bracken and Seth did the first bit. Turns out the metal from the bullet and blade was impregnated with some kind of concentrated dark magic poison stuff.. We siphoned the poison out of my using Seth's natural magnitude for it. Tanu collected it and is storing it for examination. Then Seth left and Vanessa came in and from there it was a blur of stuff. Bracken stopped the bleeding with his powers, I know that much. I think Nessa stitched up the deeper cuts that didn't seal up. Mara was here briefly? I think? She may have brought some kind of paste, I'm not sure. Then after I wasn't in danger of bleeding out, Tanu brought me a potion to replenish my blood," he nodded to a vial on the side table. "As you can see, I'm still working through it."

Kendra opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a knock. She turned to see Bracken standing in the doorway, Dale and Vanessa behind him.

"Hi," he sounded chipper, but wary. "Just here to check on Warren's cuts, bring him lunch and medicine."

Kendra turned back around and moved aside wordlessly, brushing past Bracken to lean against the wall as the others began to set up shop.

"Did you make my favorite?"

"I made your _least_ favorite?"

"Nessa! I'm ill!"

"Stop whining, Warren. It'll make the medicine taste better."

As the two set about their usual banter, Bracken began stripping the gauze off Warren's chest. As more and more of his skin was revealed, the room's atmosphere went from joyous to tense. The expanse of Warren's chest was like a tome. The thin scars were red and angry, and tinged dark around the edges from the magic. The words were unidentifiable from where Kendra was standing, but they looked no less kind today than last night. Vanessa and Dale turned away, the blix wiping her eyes surreptitiously on the back of her hand. Bracken grimaced and Warren hissed as the unicorn prodded around his chest. Kendra felt the anger from last night surge through her again, unbidden and vicious. She pushed off the wall, met Bracken's eyes as he turned to her, and stalked out of the room.

Kendra made no effort to stop the door from slamming as she tromped onto the porch. She all but threw herself against the railing, fuming under the surface. Not even the fresh air and autumnal visage could soothe her. She tried meditative breathing, and was halfway to stable when the door slammed open again.

"Kendra." Bracken had arrived.

"Bracken," She threw a cursory glance at him over her shoulder and had to force herself not to roll her eyes. He was holding himself stiffly, regally, as if the impending argument was beneath him as far as he was concerned. "Or should I say Your Majesty?"

He seemed to let the remark physically wash over him and pass through him before taking a deep breath and addressing her. "I know you're upset-"

"Step One complete."

"But you have to understand why I did what I did."

"Pray tell."

"Kendra!" he seemed to finally snap, crossing the porch to stand right in front of her. His lanky 6'2" frame dwarfed her 5'3", but she met his eyes defiantly. "You couldn't even be in there now, when we pulled the gauze off to redress the wounds. How would you have fared last night, when it was a bloody mess?"

"How dare you," Kendra snarled, taking a step closer to him, forcing him to fall back. "That is _not_ why I had to leave the room, you jerk! I had to fly the fuck out of there because all I wanted to do was punch you in the fucking face!"

Bracken's eyes blew wide, and his mouth flopping uselessly like a fish trying to find air. Kendra pressed on.

"He was hurt so badly! I wanted to be there, Bracken! To help him, to learn how to heal him! I need to know these things but I am never going to because you refuse to let me grow! How dare you let Seth, my kid brother, stay in the room and force me to leave? How dare you force me to abandon my dying cousin? I thought you thought more of me than that. I thought you respected me, and believed in me."

"You were a sobbing mess, Kendra!"

"So was Vanessa!" Kendra threw an arm wide. "And I would have been a lot more helpful in this particular situation."

"Kendra," Bracken seemed to deflate, collapsing in on himself. "I was just trying to protect you. I didn't want you to have to see that."

"I don't need everyone and everything trying to protect me all the time!" Kendra exploded. "If _someone_ would just teach me how to use my powers and help others, maybe I could actually start doing shit for myself."

Bracken merely nodded miserably, looking thoroughly ashamed. Kendra sighed.

"I understand where you're coming from, Bracken. But I want to protect you, and everyone else, too. You haven't been fair. And it's not ok." she sighed, folding her arms around herself.

"I know. I'm so sorry." he reached out to pull her to him, but she turned away.

"No. I'm sorry. I just..need some time for myself."

"Don't be sorry. I understand. I'm so sorry Kendra." She nodded, and he turned and padded back into the house, looking, for all the world, like a kicked puppy. Kendra sighed, putting her head in her hands. How could she feel so satisfied, but so upset, all at once?

* * *

Four days later at school, things between Kendra and Bracken were still pretty tense. Everyone had noticed, both at the preserve and school, but no one said anything. The few acquaintances they each had made sure to avoid the topic of their significant other altogether. Now, however, they were in gym class, with no one to talk to aside from each other due to the usual social barriers.

"Ready to run the mile?" Bracken asked conversationally as they stretched on the track.

"I guess. Not much choice." Kendra re-laced her shoes, trying to ignore the awkward vibes between them. As the students started lining up, another senior came jogging over to them. Kendra recognized her as Cammie Quarner, a girl who shared many of her classes, and was generally one of the nicer popular kids.

"Hey! Adalyn, Adrian! Got a quick sec?"

"Sure, Cammie, what's up?"

"Well, Derrin and Faustini are having this huge Halloween party on Friday night, practically the whole grade shows up. We realized you two are new and wouldn't know, so they asked me to pass the word around. Think you can go?"

"Um, yeah," Kendra glanced up at Bracken, who shrugged and nodded. "I don't see why not. Thanks! Is it a costume party?"

"Yep! Text me with what ur wearing so I can keep the name things and cups straight, kay? See you there!" Cammie jogged away to her gaggle of friends, and Kendra turned to Bracken.

"So," Kendra said, turning to face Bracken. He looked down at her, apprehension and excitement dancing in both their eyes. "Ready for our first high school party?"

"I guess I am," he responded. "Although, what kind of name is Faustini? Doesn't sound real."

"Says you. Your name has a connection to sticks and mud."

"What can I say?" he flashed her an impish grin as they fell back into a familiar groove and started the mile jog. "I'm down to earth."

* * *

 **We out. Buckle up for more spooky times and, honestly, a lot more drama next chapter.**


	5. Something Wicked This Way Comes (Pt 1)

**All aboard the angst train to Plotville. Don't own anything**

* * *

Chapter Five: Something Wicked This Way Comes (pt. 1)

By the time Bracken and Kendra got to the party, it was in full swing. They crossed the gated threshold and began their ascent up the winding stone steps toward Faustini's grandiose home.

"How do I look?" Bracken tugged nervously at his leather vest and puffed cotton shirt.

"You look dashing, Brack, relax," Kendra chuckled. "What about me? I'm still not certain of this braid."

Bracken paused and gently ran a finger over her silky braid. Together, they made a perfect, if not slightly off-colored, Flynn and Rapunzel, complete with authentic costumes. The fairies had spent hours doing Kendra's hair in a replication braid filled with flowers and glistening dew drops frozen in time. Her dress was her own, and with some slight tweaking (done by a highly amused Mara and Elise) she'd finished the look off with nude ballet shoes. Grandpa wouldn't let her go barefoot, though she had argued the point for days.

Bracken had used some old training garb from the fairy realm, supplying his own outfit and accessories entirely. Mara and Elise had also dyed and adjusted his leather vest to perfection, giving it the worn but loved look of the CGI outlaw's own coat. The only thing neither had consented to was hair dye. Bracken's silver locks wouldn't hold color and Kendra just generally hated it. So, here they were.

"You look gorgeous, love." Bracken spoke softly, looking deep into her eyes in the dying sunlight. Kendra felt her breath catch as he moved his hand from her braid to her neck, holding her there gently while he leaned in to kiss her. It wasn't their most passionate, or beautiful kiss, but there was a certain magnitude and gravity to it that sent Kendra reeling, wrapping her arms around Bracken for support. As they broke apart, Kendra did her best to catch her breath.

"Whoa," she breathed. "That was...Is everything ok?"

"Yeah," he murmured, still tracing her lips with his thumb. "Just reminding you how much I love you."

"Bracken, you know I love you, too," Kendra whispered, looking away as her eyes misted over. "Now stop being such a sap, you're going to ruin my make up."

"Of course, princess," He chuckled, leaning in and kissing her cheek chastely. "Shall we party?"

She took his hand and they set off once again,

Faustini answered the door, already looking pretty hammered.

"Hey, guys!" his words slurred. "C'mon in and shit," he let them pass with a sweeping gesture. "Drinks are over there-" he motioned vaguely toward the bathroom. "And people are like, yeah, like everywhere. Don't throw up. Don't be a dick, or a bitch, I don't discrimit- discimmi- I don't judge. I have a dog somewhere. He's chill. Name's Billy. Have fun, yo!" And with that Faustini ambled off.

"Well, that was..something else." Bracken looked extremely amused as he spoke.

"Adalyn!" Kendra turned to see Cammie, who seemed just slightly tipsy. She was also dressed like Rapunzel, though clearly her costume wasn't original. Kendra didn't care, she was just glad someone had actually gone the princess route with her. "Adrian! Wassup AA battery?"

"Hey Cammie," Kendra giggled. "Just got here, hit some traffic. What's up with you?"

"Oh, girl," Cammie shook her head disapprovingly. "You are not nearly tipsy enough. I can see it. I got this sense. Come with me, it'll be good."

Kendra made to follow the girl, but Bracken grabbed her arm.

"Adalyn," his sweet demeanor was all but gone, stern worry having taken its place. "I thought we were gonna stay together? First party and all?"

"Adrian, it's fine," her eyes flashed in warning. "I can take care of myself, and there are some of your buddies over there. I'll find you in 10, ok?" Kendra yanked her arm out of his grasp and walked away before he could respond.

"What's he got up his butt?" Cammie asked conversationally.

"Too much pride and the overbearing tendencies of Molly Weasley, to be honest."

"Ha! That's a good one. You should hang on to that."

Kendra laughed at her friend's slightly sloppy but easy-going mannerisms, and went with her to find her first drink of the night. Cammie brought her to a table full of cups that was, decidedly, nowhere near the bathroom gestured to before.

"Faustini had cups made up for everyone beforehand so no one would get confused," at Kendra's skeptical glance, Cammie rushed to clarify. "His dad's a bartender in town, and check all the stuff himself. Not to mention, no one has ever gotten roofied here or anywhere near here. We've done it like this before, you're all good."

At the other girl's experienced insistence, Kendra shrugged and picked up the cup with Adalyn S. printed on the front in sharpie. She looked at the glittery liquid inside before glancing at Cammie with open concern.

"Oh, the glitter? Yeah that threw me off, too. Some kind of seasonal vodka. It's pretty diluted, though, and the glitter is edible. There are more drinks over there, but everyone started off with this."

Kendra nodded, looked once more in the cup, and shrugged again.

'L'chaim,' she thought as she downed a few sips of the vodka. It actually tasted much better than Kendra anticipated, like a swirl of cherries and coconut.

"C'mon," Cammie called over music that now seemed louder than before. "Let's go find the others and chill for a while. Before your uptight grandma of a boyfriend turns up."

Kendra laughed and took her hand, following her into the throng. 30 minutes later, she was done with her vodka, and had replaced it with some dark wine, the kind Vanessa and Tanu liked to drink on Sundays. It tasted better than it smelled.

"So, Adalyn," one girl, Penny, called over to her. They were all sat in a circle on the plush carpet in the study, a group of girls who all only really knew each other from class, but got along well enough. "What's the skinny with you and Mr. Burgess?"

"Mr. Burgess?" Kendra nearly choked on her wine. "I truly have no idea what you are talking about." For a moment she panicked, frantic and fearful to find out if they knew they were related.

"Well, to be blunt, we heard you're fucking."

Oh dear God. The cousin reveal would have been better. Kendra internally screamed.

"Um, no," she was positive she looked as nauseous as she felt. "No, I am definitely not, uh, doing that with my history teacher. I have a boyfriend, whom I love dearly, if anyone would care to recall. And also, ew. That is so revolting."

"Why?" Cammie spoke up. "He's hot. Also, I thought you and Adrian were on the outs because he had a thing going with Ms. Santoro?"

"Dear God," Kendra muttered, now actively trying not to laugh and cry all at once. "No, I can promise you that isn't true. Sorry, to kill the rumor mill. But it just isn't."

"Damn. What a story that could've been."

"Yeah, really," Kendra scowled, still trying to push her building nausea down. "Where did you hear it anyway?"

"Oh, Brittany Favre. Which, in all honesty, figures. She's just a fucking liar. And a ho. Lying ho." Cammie downed the rest of her vodka to punctuate the statement.

"Oh, I'm aware." Kendra downed the last of wine in one go, scowling when it only added to her stomach problems. Her skin was clammy now, and she had a light headache. Maybe she was getting sick?

"Hey, Adalyn," Charice, another girl in the group, waved her hand lightly in front of Kendra's eyes. It made her head hurt more. "You ok, girl? You don't look so good."

"Addy? What's wrong?" Cammie was in front of her now. Why was everything fuzzy? "Your eyes look kind of red. And you look ill. Alright, ok. Alright, um," the girl pushed a hand messily through her own braid. "I'm going to go get Adrian, don't worry."

As Cammie moved off through the crowd, Kendra found herself suddenly alone. She glanced around, frustrated with her own mind for not being able to keep up. Kendra steeled herself and attempted to follow Cammie on unsteady legs when a figure blocked her. Glancing up, Kendra was surprised to see it wasn't Bracken, but Dylan Holstings, one of the Varsity football players.

"Hey Adalyn!" he shouted into her face, clearly drunk. "How's the party?"

"Fine, Dylan. Not feeling great, though, so, excuse me.." Kendra tried to push past him, but the bigger guy grabbed her wrist and held her.

"Don't worry, babe," he leered at her. He reeked of stale booze. "I can make you feel much better if you come upstairs with me."

"Ew, don't be such a troll," she snarled, using her deceiving strength to pull her wrist from his meaty hand. "Pig-headed jock."

"Hey, what did you say to me, you bitch-" Dylan made another grab for her, but his skin never met hers. A voice suddenly cut in.

"Keep your hands off of her." Bracken's voice was icy, fury barely restrained under its cool surface. Kendra looked over to see him next to her, holding Dylan up by the front of his shirt. Cammie stood just behind both of them, look smugly triumphant, but apprehensive all the same.

"Hey man, chill!" Dylan struggled in the towering prince's grip. "I didn't mean nothing, I was just being a bro, bro! You know how it is, right, man?"

"No, I don't," Bracken released the boy with a disgusted flick, letting him drop. "Stay away from her, simpleton."

Dylan was on his feet and moving away before Bracken had finished his sentence, but threw a "fucking bitch!" over his shoulder for good measure.

"Damn straight, you dick twitch!" Cammie shouted back as Bracken turned to face Kendra, concern all over his face.

"Ke-Adalyn, is everything ok? I'm sorry I didn't come by, you seemed like you needed some time, and I just didn't want to upset you."

"S'all good." Kendra slurred, confused about why her mouth wasn't moving like she wanted it to.

"Are you drunk?"

"Not in particularly."

"That doesn't make sense."

"You don't make sense."

"Adalyn!" Bracken snapped, glaring at a giggling Cammie. "I think we need to go, something about you seems off."

"You're probably right, Mr. Buzzkill," Kendra sighed, and turned to Cammie. "Bye Cammie, thanks for making this party a lot more fun than I thought it'd be. You're the best."

"Don't mention it, Addie," Cammie moved forward and embraced her. "I'll see you in History on Monday. Get home safe."

"You, too, Cam. Later!" Kendra slurred as Bracken wrapped an arm around her. For once, Kendra was grateful at his overbearing nature. The room had started spinning. The sharp slap of the cool night air helped orient her a bit, but not much. They were halfway to Vanessa's car, parked one block over in case of an emergency, when Kendra paused, forcing the prince to stop as well.

"Kendra? Is everything ok?" Bracken's voice sounded far away.

"Call Vanessa and Warren," Kendra slurred as her vision started to darken. "Don't feel so good."

She saw the sky bend, and the ground rush to meet her, but was out cold before she hit the pavement.

* * *

"Wait," Warren gasped out around his laughter. "You really said that to him?"

"I didn't know who he was at the time!" Vanessa tried to sound defensive, though her own laughter was making it difficult. "Not that it would have changed anything."

"Oh my god, Nessa," Warren wiped his eyes, still chuckling. "You're really something."

"So I've been told," she chortled. "With varying contexts and degrees of affection."

He laughed again and looked over at her, taking in her flushed cheeks, red from their laughing fit, dark hair in a messy bun, and, for once, played down outfit and muted makeup. In his opinion, she'd never looked more beautiful.

"So," he reached out, deciding to play it bold, and took a loose piece of dark hair between his thumb and forefinger. He twirled it absently. "Have anymore wonderful stories of you accidentally insulting the Sphinx? Or maybe Lich? A dragon, even?"

"Alas, I tend to keep myself out of mortal peril and bad situation," she threw a loaded glance at him. "Unlike some people."

Warren glanced down, fiddling with the hem of the old flannel he had on. He waited for her to speak again sensing she wasn't done.

"Then again," her tone turning flinty and angry. "Maybe I would have more stories if you let me do my job and stopped being a sexist ass."

"Hey," his head whipped up, never able to resist an argument with the Spanish woman. "My intentions were never fueled by manful pride. Or anything of the like. I was worried for you, and not because you're a woman," he pushed on before she could interrupt. "I was worried because you're you. And I'm me. And, well, I didn't want to see you hurt. Or worse."

"Warren," she sighed angrily. "I don't understand. You know what I can do, what I'm capable of, and not just as a blix. I love to fight, and I'm good. I can handle myself in a fight, I don't need some guy looking out for me-"

"I'd like to think I'm more than just some guy to you." Warren snapped, not hiding the hurt he felt at her words.

"Of course you are," she rolled her eyes. "I just don't know what, since we seem to be neatly avoiding that conversation. I digress. The point here is that I'm hurt, Warren. You know I can fight just as well, if not better than you. What you did doesn't make any sense. And I want an answer."

"Vanessa," Warren sighed heavily, and dropped the hand playing with her hair onto her thigh, over her own hand. "I needed you to go. I had a really bad feeling, and I was right. And trust me when I say he could have taken down both of us. I didn't- I couldn't-," he paused to shove his other hand through his hair, acutely aware of her dark eyes boring into him. "If you had gotten injured, if that freak had carved into you the way he did to me, or if he had- Vanessa, if he had put his hands on you in any way, I would never have been able to live with myself, knowing I didn't try to protect you. And I know that sounds barbaric, or whatever, but-"

He was cut off by Vanessa grabbing his jaw, turning his head back toward her, and kissing him. It wasn't like their previous times, fueled by desire or frustration or even anger. There was meaning to this moment, depth that hadn't been there before. An understanding. A 'Thank you'.

Warren leaned into her, squeezing the toned muscle of her thigh with one hand, the other going to winding into her hair to hold her to him. She made a soft noise and wrapped her arms around his neck, running her tongue along his lower lip. They deepened the kiss, each matching the other's movements beat for beat, but as Warren's hand started drifting north of its place on her thigh, a shrill ringing interrupted them.

"Son of a-" Warren groaned as they broke apart, barely registering his partner's soft snarl as he answered the call. "Hello?"

* * *

As Warren answered the call, Vanessa focused on fixing her mussed up hair and regulating her breathing. Where had that come from? She was usually so much more collected, and it was so unprofessional-

"What?" Warren's shout interrupted her train of thought. "Shit. We're coming. Vanessa, Kendra's in trouble, drive!"

She didn't need to be told twice. She jammed the start button on the car, putting on her night glasses and throwing the car into drive. Not even a minute later, they squealed to a stop a little past a very large, very lit up house. Bracken's silver hair was visible on the sidewalk from the car. It was clear he was leaning over someone, holding them up. Warren had barely waited for her to stop before he jumped out of the car. Vanessa let it idle and quickly got out to follow him.

"She's still breathing, but not enough, and she's pale, she's not hurt, I caught her, but-" Bracken was rambling frantically, clutching Kendra to his chest. He looked more like a scared little boy than a noble prince, and Vanessa actually felt herself taking pity on him.

"Lay her down, evenly," she instructed. "Let me check her." Warren helped her and after a few minutes, they'd reached the same unfortunate conclusion.

"They roofied her? They fucking roofied my baby cousin?" Warren seethed as he lifted her.

"Be grateful it isn't alcohol poisoning. And by even more grateful the guy who roofied her wasn't around when it hit. That shit is easy enough to deal with on its own."

"She still doesn't seem right," Bracken mumbled, climbing into the backseat. "Her aura. It's all off."

She swapped an alarmed glance with Warren before swiveling to face to unicorn. "Off how?"

Bracken opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by Kendra. She was mumbling incoherently, twisting in her seat and tossing her head, as if trying to physically shake someone off her. Her voice grew louder, but the words still weren't distinguishable- they weren't English.

"Nessa? Language help?" Warren didn't move his gaze from Kendra, though one hand had come up to rub at his scarred chest. She could only shake her head.

"It's not a language I know."

"Nor I," Bracken muttered. "I think we should get back to Fablehaven, fast."

No sooner had he spoken the words before Kendra screamed, startling them all. It was tortured, frightened sound, and when it died out she began sobbing hysterically, calling out for her parents and grandparents, her brother, and then the occupants of the car. Bracken grabbed her, tears beginning to track down his own face, before he screamed "GO!" at the adults. Vanessa needed no more prompting, and quickly tore off down the street toward the highway.

* * *

 **Stay tuned for part two!**


	6. Something Wicked This Way Comes (Pt 2)

**Own nothing. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 5

Warren has a list of noises he has grown to hate. This list includes breaking glass, bones snapping, garbage bags being opened, squeaking of any kind, car alarms, and, most recently added, his young cousin screaming in unimaginable, other worldly pain.

"Make it stop!" Kendra sobbed from the back seat. "Please"

"We're almost there, _mija_ , hang on." Vanessa called. She was doing at least 130, and they were minutes out from the preserve. Warren had called Trask and told him to ready the Med Room, as they were now calling it.

"It hurts," Kendra's voice was quieter, an anguished sob. "It hurts so much."

"We're close, princess," Bracken murmured, brushing her sweaty hair off her forehead. "Just stay with us."

"Princess?" Warren pondered quietly. "Why is that sounding so...funky, right now?"

"Because she might be dying and he's calling her that? Also, 'funky'?" Vanessa responded.

"No, not that," Warren murmured, ignoring her snide comment. He closed his eyes, thinking hard about the word princess and why it wasn't settling right in his stomach when it came to Kendra. Suddenly, she screamed again, making the scars on his chest flare in pain. Then, it came rushing back to him.

"It's the dark poison!" Warren yelled, snapping to attention in his seat. "It's the same shit that guy stuck in me, I swear."

"What?" Bracken snapped. "How do you know?"

"Whenever she starts screaming, my scars hurt, for one. Plus, when that sadist was carving me up like a jack-o-lantern, he said something about coming after you guys to me."

"What?" Vanessa looked horrified. "Oh my god, Warren, why didn't you say something?"

"I kind of forgot," he rubbed the back of my head. "It was buried under the physical pain. On purpose, too, I think. So we wouldn't know until...well…"

"What did he say?" Bracken asked.

"Um," Warren squeezed his eyes shut, foraging in his subconscious. "Something about making an example or a warning or something of me, then going after our 'fairy princess' then our 'prince' and then our 'blix bitch'. He might have said other things, but then he got stabby and I blacked out."

"Warren, write that down once we get in." Vanessa said as she pulled onto the gravel.

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

They peeled up the driveway, and Warren and Bracken were jumping out of the car before it was off. Warren gathered Kendra in his arms as Bracken went ahead to the room. The prince was nearly knocked off his feet by a frantic Seth, though, who came flying out the door.

"What's wrong with her? Is she ok?" Vanessa caught him around the middle before he reached Kendra, holding him back.

"No, _mijo_ , stay back. We don't know what's happening."

"Isn't it like Warren? I can help! Please!" he begged, and strained against Vanessa's grip as Warren moved past him.

"We don't know Seth. Let Bracken find out first." He slumped against her grip, defeated, but sprung back to life when Kendra screamed again. The pair took off into the house, flying past Mara and Tanu, mixing potions in the kitchen fervently.

"We need Seth!" Bracken yelled from the Med Room. "If this is going to work we have to try it now!"

"Coming!" Seth yelled, and charged ahead. Vanessa followed him into the room, but was pulled back and out of the way by Warren's arm around her shoulder. She joined him in leaning against the far wall, watching but there if needed.

Bracken was leaning over Kendra, who had passed out again. He was holding his horn, running it over her body repeatedly. Parts of her body would glow under the horns influence, but seemed to dull once it moved on. Vanessa frowned, looking up to see Warren looking equally perturbed.

"Her body's never not been able to hold its glow." He whispered to her.

"Concerning to say the least."

He hummed, and they both turned their attention back to the bed.

"Seth," Bracken motioned for the younger boy to come closer. "Remember how we focused your magnitude with my horn with Warren? We have to try it again."

"Ok." Seth bounced on the balls of his feet, shaking his limbs out. He moved to grasp Bracken's horn when the prince offered it, centering the tip right at her heart. Seth closed his eyes, and started to pull the horn away from Kendra. As it moved, a long tendril of shadow began to move with it. Suddenly, Seth jolted to a stop. He tried to pull, but the horn wouldn't move. He grunted, and leaned back with all his weight, but it wouldn't move. Just as Warren started to move closer, an electric current seemed to run up from Kendra's body through the horn and into Seth. He yelped, and was thrown back against the wall.

"Ow! Shit!" Seth rubbed the back of his head, getting up unsteadily. "What the hell just happened?"

"Well, that didn't work," Bracken muttered. "This poison is stronger, more concentrated. It won't allow itself to be pulled out by another dark entity."

"What?" Seth sounded furious. "Then what do we do? What can I do?"

"Move," Vanessa pushed off the wall suddenly, moving across the room to the door. "I have something that should work. Bracken, cut her arm open."

"What?" Warren yelled after her.

"Just do it!" she called back from down the hall.

Bracken lifted his horn again, and slowly cut a line into Kendra's arm. Blood, darker than normal, began seeping out. He looked pained, Warren looked livid, and Seth was standing off to the side, looking disgusted and mutinous.

"Can't even help my own sister," he spoke under his breath. "Can't do anything right."

"Seth!" Warren snapped. "Either go check on the potions and bring them here or find somewhere else to be! You can mope later."

Seth looked ready to swing on Warren for a second, but he snapped his mouth shut and stalked out of the room. He almost collided with Vanessa on his way out, and purposely didn't apologize.

"Sometimes I forget he's only 15," she sighed. "Anyway, here. It just got this in a few days ago, but it should be potent enough." In her hands was a pile of orange goo that seemed to be breathing on its own, and fidgeting.

"Um, what is that?" Warren looked revolted, but moved to let Vanessa sit by Kendra's arm.

"It's wizard slime. It can get out just about any poison from an infected blood stream. Probably the best chance we have."

"The floor is yours." Bracken moved to the other side of Kendra and continued to run his horn along her body. Vanessa eased the slime over Kendra's open cut, and little by little the mass liquified and disappeared into her skin. As the minutes ticked on, the fairykind girl began glowing brighter and for longer. Bracken started to relax, and for a few moments, the entire preserve seemed to hold its breath.

"What's taking so long? Shouldn't that stuff be out of her by now?" Warren asked from where he was pacing. Just as he finished, the cut began to bleed a brownish color, and little by little the slime came oozing out. Vanessa caught it all, apparently unperturbed at the now chocolate-colored ball of goop. Warren looked ready to dry heave.

"I got the potions," Seth came bounding back in, although he paused when he looked at the scene. "Why is Vanessa cradling a handful of shit?"

The tension in the room seemed to finally settle, and the three seated with Kendra laughed. Bracken reported that her coloring was almost back to normal, and that her magic seemed light and steady once again. Vanessa checked her vitals, and collected a vial of clean blood to run to Tanu. They were packing up to leave when Ruth and Stan poked their heads in.

"Is she ok?" Ruth asked, walking in cautiously.

"Yeah, she's stable now." Warren said.

"You all seemed to have it under control," Stan said. "We didn't want to get in the way, but we were sure worried," He sat down my Kendra's sleeping form and ran the back of his hand over her arm. "You kids sure know how to give us a fright."

"Keep it up and Dale will be running the preserve."

"Good God, no," Warren muttered. "And anyway, the only one who's still a kid here is Seth, technically."

"You're immature enough for the next five generations, Warren, don't worry," Ruth smirked, working to undo Kendra's braid. "Will someone be staying with her tonight? Just in case?"

"I will," Bracken spoke up from the back of the room. "If anything goes wrong, my magic will be enough to sustain her until backup gets here."

"Well," Ruth looked a bit worried. "I don't know..."

"Ruth," Vanessa looked up from wrestling her crap-slime into its tank. "Kendra's going to be asleep until morning for sure, and he's the prince of all good virtue. They'll be fine."

"Alright," Stan sighed, standing up. "It's for Kendra's best interest anyway. I trust him."

"She's literally unconscious," Seth deadpanned, pushing off the wall grumpily to punctuate his once again bad mood. "They're not morons. Night all."

"Night, Seth." they chorused, Warren ruffling his hair and he went past.

"We're turning in, too," Ruth and Stan moved toward the door. "Too much excitement for one night."

After they bade the keepers goodnight, Warren and Vanessa made their retreat as well, telling the prince to yell if he needed them. Once they were gone, Bracken settled in next to Kendra on the bed, dimming the lights with his magic.

"Oh princess," he trailed a finger gently down her cheek. "Why you?"

* * *

"You're not heading back to the cabin are you?" Warren turned towards Vanessa's incredulous voice.

"Well, see, I sleep there. So, yeah."

"That's too far for tonight," she shook her head. "What if something happens? We won't be able to reach you."

"Oh, um," Warren paused halfway through the living room. She had a point. "I'll take the couch here, then. It's close enough to the action that I won't miss anything."

"Not very comfortable," she mumbled. He quirked a brow at her. "Do you want to stay with me? I'm right there, if something goes wrong we'll be the first on the scene."

"Are you ok with that?" Warren asked her cautiously. Since they'd begun this...whatever they had going between them, he'd been more careful than ever to respect her personal space and her boundaries. She had to know he was looking for more than a physical relationship, something more than they had the first time they'd "dated".

"Yeah," she nodded after only a moment's hesitation. "Yeah I am."

She held out a hand to him.

"Come to bed with me."

He grabbed her outstretched hand and followed her. When he finally fell asleep that night, it was with his face buried in Vanessa's hair, her legs tangled with his, and their bodies pressed close together. Despite the weight of the night's events still pressing heavily on his mind, Warren had never felt lighter.

* * *

Kendra was woken up by a ridiculous amount of light shining on her face. Groggily, she turned her face deeper into her pillow, attempting to fall back asleep, but the damage was done. She groaned before pushing herself up on her elbows and looking around. She was alone in the Med Room, but as far as she could tell, it wasn't past noon. The weekend chore routine wouldn't have started yet, so why was she alone?

Kendra swung her legs over the side of the bed, and was nearly bowled over by the sudden wave of pain that surged through her head. She whimpered, and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. It felt like one of Seth's firecrackers had exploded behind her forehead. The nausea from the party was gone though, and although her reaction time was slow and her limbs felt heavier than normal, she was fine. That left her with a splitting hangover. Wonderful.

Moaning, she debated on getting up or laying back down, and in the end her splitting headache won over her hunger. She laid down again, running through the past night in her head. She could hardly remember anything after the whole Dylan fiasco, but she recalled feeling sick, leaving with Bracken, and collapsing. After that it was fuzzy, bits and pieces coming back to her in soundbites but she had no idea what actually happened. Was this alcohol poisoning? Did she drink too much? Damn, she was in so much trouble.

"Kendra?" A voice came from the doorway. She looked up to see Warren standing there, holding what looked like toast and water. "Glad to see you're up. Here, eat this slowly, I'm going to go get Bracken." He placed the food down on the bedside table, before exiting the room.

'That was odd,' Kendra thought, slowly reaching out for the toast. Warren had barely glanced at her, and had practically fled the room. She didn't have much time to ponder this before her cousin came back, this time with Bracken in tow.

"It seems my princess has awoken. How are you?" The prince said, crossing over to sit next to her. She scrunched her nose up at him as she chewed on the toast, pointing to her head. "Headache? Don't worry, Tanu has potion for that."

Bracken sat on the bed in front of her and Warren pulled up a chair.

"Other than the hangover, you good?" Warren asked.

"My limbs feel...heavy? And I feel like my thoughts are slow." She said, finding her throat to be sore.

"That will all go away soon, you should feel better after a day or so. You had a lot of poison in you." Bracken said, causing Kendra to almost choke on her toast.

"Poison!" She exclaimed. What were they talking about? She'd just had too much to drink.

"Oops, my bad. Forgot to tell her. Sorry?" Warren said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Nice." Bracken scowled. "Anyway, yes. It's the same poison they used on Warren, except much more concentrated, probably because you were directly imbibing it from the alcohol."

"The alcohol?" Kendra's mind struggled to keep up. "It was spiked."

"That's our best guess. Makes the most sense." Warren said.

"Anyway," Bracken huffed, irked at being interrupted. "Vanessa remembered she had new wizard slime, god knows why, but it got the poison out of you. When you fell asleep you seemed pretty stable."

"That's good.." Kendra sighed. "So I got magically roofied? Wow. Wait, but, what about everyone else at the party? Was anyone else drugged with the poison?"

They both seemed to pause, glancing at each other and then away. They looked upset about something, and confused.

"What?" she asked. "What is it?"

"There's...something we have to tell you." Warren said, piecing his words together carefully.

"Tell me what?" Kendra insisted. Warren and Bracken shared another look, fanning her curiosity. Bracken sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Okay, I know you're stable now, but you have to promise that no matter what I tell you, you'll keep breathing, and you'll stay calm. Please, don't freak out, stay alert, can you promise me that?" He said, grabbing her hand and searching her eyes intently.

"Yes, I think I can. Bracken, what happened?" Kendra squeezed his hand, bracing herself for whatever was about to come out of her prince's mouth.

"There was a… an incident. At the party, after we left…Cammie, she-" he broke off, looking up toward the ceiling and blinking hard. "Kendra, I'm so sorry, but Cammie is dead."

There was a beat. And then another. And another. Kendra let the words sink in and wash over her. She stared into Bracken's tearing eyes, hoping to find a hidden glimmer of mirth to indicate some cruel joke. She looked to Warren, who couldn't quite meet her eyes.

"I'm sorry, what?" She whispered, not wanting to believe it. She listened as Bracken explained that he got a call from the police, asking if had seen anything. She listened as he explained that she was found in the bushes outside the house, stabbed and with unknown toxins in her blood. She listened to every word, but couldn't speak.

Cammie was dead. Cammie, the girl who befriended Kendra and made her feel welcome. Cammie, who let Kendra copy her biology notes one day when she had missed an entire section because she was panicking over Chemistry instead. Cammie, who dressed up in the same costume as Kendra and spent the night making jokes about it…

Kendra felt herself go numb at the realization, but forced herself to voice it to the guys. As their eyes flew wide, and Warren leapt from the room to tell the others, she felt the first tears fall from her eyes.

Cammie had been wearing the same costume, the same purple dress, the same hair style, the same shoes even. They had looked like twins last night. Their cups had been right next to each others on the table. Cammie was never the target, she was never supposed to die. Kendra was.

* * *

 **RIP Cammie, you will be missed. Next up, a return to Cranford!**


	7. Much Needed Rest

**We don't own anything. There is so much fluff ahead that you had better prepare to get about 9 cavities. To make up for the last two angst-fests, here is this:**

* * *

Chapter 6: Much Needed Rest

"Wait, you really insulted a visiting dignitary on the grounds that 'his face looked like a toadstool's bum?'"

"For the last time, I was 8!"

"More like 150."

"Same thing."

Kendra laughed along with Warren and Vanessa. They were all seated at a nice restaurant in Nateport, a town close enough to be accessible, but far enough from Cranford to be low-risk for a double date. The whole thing had been (unsurprisingly) Vanessa's idea, under the guise that Kendra needed to get out of "this Victorian-style prison" and her own head, and be out with friends for a bit. She had yet to return to school, but she had gone to Cammie's funeral with Bracken. Since then, the depression and guilt had been almost crushing, broken only by the intense waves of sadness that came over her once a day.

"Well, it's not as bad by comparison, and was kinda lame," Kendra paused, chewing and swallowing her fettuccine alfredo. "But when the whole Gavin fiasco went down at the, um, reptile exhibit," Vanessa choked on her wine. "I clubbed him really hard over the head with the rain stick. It didn't do anything, but it felt good. I mean, hey, if I was gonna die, I'd rather go out swinging."

Warren was laughing, and Vanessa was staring.

"You hit the most demonic lizard in the cosmos over the head with a rain stick." Bracken was slackjawed.

"Yep. I figured why not? Gonna die anyway. Also he trapped Warren in a burning knapsack and left him to die while I watched, so I wasn't ecstatic about that."

She shook her head a bit to stop her thoughts from wandering down a dark path, and instead focused on Warren smiling at her from across the table, gratitude and pride mingling in his eyes.

"You, my princess, rock." Bracken smiled, popping a piece of potato into his mouth.

Kendra felt herself flush and smiled proudly. "Yeah, I kinda do, huh?"

"My most recent screw-up would have to be walking in on Mara and Elise." Warren commented a minute later, mouth full of salmon.

"What!" the table chorused.

"Yeah," Warren speared more asparagus and shrugged. "I was up really late, couldn't sleep, went to get some water and there they were, making out hardcore in the breakfast nook. Didn't look comfy but, hey, if that's what you're into…"

Vanessa elbowed him and scowled as Bracken hastily questioned, "What happened then? Did they see you?"

"It's so funny to hear you thirst for gossip like a mom on the soccer pitch." Vanessa smirked.

"Guess I learned from the master." He scowled back.

"Anyway," Warren loudly interrupted before a worse fight could escalate. "They jumped apart super fast, which didn't work out in Elise's favor since she'd kinda been on top and hit her head on that weird hanging plant Ruth won't let die."

"That things a bitch." Kendra muttered.

"And then Mara was glaring at me so hard and Elise was so red that I forgot what I came to the kitchen for and just kinda ran. Looking back on it now, though, we should all be grateful I walked in. They were missing a few, ahem, key items of apparel."

"Oh my god." Bracken's eyes were glued to Warren in rapture.

"Called it." Vanessa shrugged, Kendra nodded her assent.

"What?" Warren whirled to face her. "How can you call that?"

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes. "You can't tell me you don't see them flirting, or training together, or sitting just close enough to brush shoulders, or driving home and to work everyday."

"Yeah, but…" Warren look like his whole world had just been flipped around, and Kendra was struggling not to laugh.

"Plus, you seem to forget I have a pretty diverse background." Vanessa went back to cutting her chicken. "I know these things, Warren."

Kendra caught her eye, and they shared a smirking wink. Warren turned on Bracken.

"You don't seem surprised, either, man. You want details, not facts."

"Mind reading can be a bitch, Warren." Bracken calmly chewed more potato. The table fell into an easy silence, broken only by the _tink-tink_ of silverware against china.

"Would any you have believed we would end up here when we all first met?" Kendra asked, taking a sip of her iced tea. The others looked at her, then each other, deeply considering.

"Honestly, I didn't know I'd live to see the light of day past zzyzx, so no." Bracken sighed.

"Jeez, when we first met?" Warren scratched at his stubble. "Not really, I thought you would've gone back to New York and just been another distant relative."

"I didn't think I'd ever be on speaking terms with you for longer than a week," Vanessa murmured, looking at her. "So definitely not."

"What about with each other?" Kendra only received confused glances in response. "I mean, what were all of your first impressions of each other? Of me?"

"Now there's a doozy." Warren laughed.

"Well," Bracken seemed thoughtful as he considered it. "When I first met you, Kendra, you fried my retinas. I didn't get a good look at you, genuinely, until well after we out of the prison. Then, I was floored by your beauty."

Kendra tried not to giggle like a stereotypical teenager, meanwhile Warren spoke up, "If she was shining half as bright as she was when I was in my coma, then I'm honestly shocked you aren't blind, Bracken."

"She was shining when you saw her?"

"Yeah, I think she had been using some kind of fairy magic to try and revive me. We didn't really know the parameters of her powers though, so it was a bit of a shot in the dark- pardon the saying."

"What did you try? I mean, clearly, it didn't work right away but did anything happen?" Bracken seemed avid for information, spearing his potato with more gusto than before.

"Well, um, it's not exactly…" Kendra trailed off, fishing for a way to end this particular line of conversation.

"She kissed me." Warren said, stabbing some broccoli. Kendra groaned and plunked her head on the table. It took all of three seconds for Bracken and Vanessa to dissolve into giggles.

"Oh, my god," Vanessa was covering her mouth and nose with her hands, and her eyes were huge with disbelief and laughter. "You can't be serious.

"Yeah, that's a thing that happened." Kendra refused to lift her chin from the mahogany.

"Well, that's certainly one way to transfer energy." Bracken snorted, still chuckling. Kendra socked him in the arm.

"Shut up, horse boy. I get enough of this from Warren."

"Hell yeah you do." Warren laughed around the food in his mouth.

"Anyway," Kendra sighed and rolled her eyes. "My first impressions of all of you were that you were super attractive. So there's that."

"Damn straight." Vanessa smiled, examining her nails. Bracken preened a bit, too, flicking a loose strand of hair away.

"More details, fairy." Warren jabbed his fork in her direction.

"Well, I thought Bracken was too handsome to be anything but a spy," said prince choked on his mulled wine before laughing deeply. "And I thought Vanessa was pretty but conceited."

"And you were right." Warren and Bracken said. Vanessa kicked them both under the table.

"I thought Warren was overly aggressive when I first met him, and as if he could read my thoughts he punched me in the face that same day. " Bracken stated, startled a laugh from Vanessa. "But then he ended up saving my life and vice versa over and over again in a short time period, so I came to appreciate said aggression. Humorous, too."

"Aw, thanks man," Warren and Bracken fist bumped. "I thought you were way too stuck up, and kind of egotistical, but then you really brought it to the table and saved my ass."

"Anytime, brother." As they bumped again, Vanessa and Kendra rolled their eyes at each other.

"I'm pretty sure we all know Bracken and Vanessa's first impressions of each other."

"Glorified donkey."

"Stuck-up vampire wannabe."

"Thanks for the reminder, guys." Warren rolled his eyes.

"What about you two?" Bracken leaned forward to stare Warren and Vanessa down. "What were your first impressions of each other?"

"Um, not suitable for a dinner table." Vanessa blushed and looked down at her food, Warren nodding his agreement.

"Then tone it down," Kendra pleaded. "C'mon, it's only fair."

"Fine," Warren sighed. "Our first meeting was an accident. We were both Knights, and had been accidentally assigned to the same mission. I showed up halfway through, and blew her cover. She threw a lot of colorful words at me, I helped her track the guy down again, and from there we kept getting paired up."

"That doesn't answer the question." Bracken sing-songed, grinning sadistically.

"Well, when I finally got a good look at him," Vanessa sighed. "After yelling at him for about four minutes straight, I thought he was way too pretty to be remotely competent."

"I thought about the same." Warren laughed. "And then we kicked that guy's ass together. I was pretty amazed." He was lightly running his thumb over Vanessa's knuckles, who was looking at him strangely. "After that, we made out for, like, an hour to kill the adrenaline, and the rest is history as you know it."

Bracken and Kendra laughed as Vanessa rolled her eyes.

"I thought he was arrogant, full of himself, and way too stubborn. And he's done nothing but prove me right since."

"Aw, Nessa, you do care."

They all laughed at the maitre'd came over and collected the plates, returning moments later with the bill. Everyone seemed to reach for it at once, but Warren got there first.

"Now ladies, why don't you go do whatever ladies do after a meal and Bracken and I can handle this."

"Or you can pull your head out of your ass and let us chip in." Vanessa scowled at him.

"C'mon," he asked softly. "Please? We both agreed we wanted to do this for you, so let us pay? Just this once."

Kendra locked eyes with Vanessa, but after a moment they both shrugged and relented.

"If you're totally certain." Kendra asked Bracken, who nodded gratefully.

"Alright, c'mon Kendra," Vanessa rose and stretched, waiting for Kendra to join her in standing. "Thanks, boys."

"Yeah, thanks a bunch, guys." Kendra smiled at them both before linking arms with Vanessa to walk outside. Halfway through the restaurant, Vanessa's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she paused briefly to open a text.

"How classy." she muttered under her breath, locking the phone and putting it back in her pocket.

"What? What's up?" Kendra pushed the door open and let Vanessa through before joining her on the sidewalk.

"Romeo just texted me. He wants to go on a date."

"What! No way!" Kendra was shocked at the man's boldness. "Doesn't he know you're not really available?"

"Not really. Warren and I still haven't really gotten around to defining what we are."

"You're not considering going, are you?"

"I'm not sure right now. It'd be good for information, and solidifying connections."

"I guess," Kendra sighed, looping her arm through Vanessa's again. "I just don't want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable, or upset. You should go on a date because you like someone, not for espionage."

"You're right, _mija_ ," Vanessa pulled her closer and wrapped her arm around the younger girl's shoulder as they walked down the town's busy street, dropping a kiss on top of her head. "Unfortunately, I'm not sure I have the option right now."

* * *

The group of four strolled through the park as twilight set in. It was brisk, but not freezing cold, and Kendra soon found herself walking alongside Warren. They were laughing at the stars, making up as many silly constellations as they could. A ways forward, Bracken was talking to Vanessa about some of the species that inhabited the fairy kingdom; he was gesturing grandly, and she seemed to be grilling him for information, more intent on learning than harming in the moment.

"It's weird to see them not trying to maul each other." Warren murmured.

"Hey, the less fighting amongst us there is, the better." Kendra whispered back.

"Yeah, about that." Warren rubbed the back of his head and stopped walking, shuffling a bit in place. "I'm sorry for being a jackass these past few weeks. I've been really on edge, and how I've treated you isn't right. So, I formally apologize for putting Bracken in detention for shits and giggles and messing your relationship up, and for charging into danger once again without thinking. I should've been smarter, and maybe we wouldn't be so deep in this mess if I hadn't done it."

"We can't afford to think like that, Warren." Kendra said as she launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. "But thank you for apologizing. It means a lot. I'm sorry for getting so angry. I've been stressed to."

"Hey, no big deal, Special K." Warren laughed as Kendra groaned at the stupid nickname, though she smiled as he returned the hug just as fiercely. They broke apart as the other two started heading back toward them, and Warren ruffled Kendra's hair.

"How was your lame science chat?" Warren snarked.

"Fascinating, thank you very much." Bracken replied.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Warren snorted and started to turn away, then looked back at Bracken and threw a wink over his shoulder. Bracken nodded, smiled to himself, and began to follow. Kendra looked at Vanessa, who looked just as confused, and shrugged. Just as they were catching up to the guys, Bracken spun around to face Kendra. He slipped an arm around her shoulders, ducked down to tuck one behind her knees, and literally swept Kendra off her feet. Before she could get oriented again, they were moving to the car.

"Wait, not fair!" Warren shouted. "Mine's fighting back!"

"Warren, you prick, don't you dare-ah!"

Kendra swiveled her head to peer over Bracken's shoulder to see Warren had picked Vanessa up as well, and were gaining on them. Kendra let a grin overtake her face, and wrapped her arms tighter around Bracken's neck.

"Go! Go go go go! They're catching up!"

"As you wish!" Bracken laughed.

By the time they all made it to the car, they were laughing breathlessly. Warren set Vanessa down right away, the woman clearly not happy with being off her own feet, but Bracken took his time walking around the the driver's side with Kendra in his arms.

"No need to hurry, hm?" He smiled softly at her, pecking her lips. "Besides, those two could probably do with a bit of privacy for a second."

Kendra stretched her neck back to see Warren's body pressing Vanessa's against the passenger door, his hands low and out of sight, hers high and wrapped around his neck.

"Yeah, that's a safe call." she laughed. Bracken opened the door to her side effortless with her in his arms, and placed her in the cab. He slid in after her, shutting the door behind him and flicking the lock into place. Kendra hazarded a glance outside, and saw through the tinted windows that their guardians were still preoccupied with each other. She decided to take what small gifts fate gave her.

She seized Bracken by the lapels of his dress shirt, hauling his mouth to hers. Unlike the kiss outside, there was nothing chaste about this. Bracken froze for a second before returning the kiss with as much passion as it was given. Kendra tossed on leg over his lap and wrapped her hand around the back of his neck. His own fingers made themselves at home on the back of her thigh and in her hair. They carried on for what felt like hours to Kendra, but was probably only seconds. Just as Bracken's hand began to drift higher, and her own fingers began to toy with the buttons on his shirt, the car alarm went off. They sprang apart, scrambling to opposite sides of the car as Vanessa shut it off with a muffled curse and opened the door. Warren opened the passenger side, eyeing them suspiciously as he got in.

"Hey kids, any reason the doors were locked when we had just opened them 30 seconds ago?"

"Um." Kendra looked to Vanessa for help, but only got a typical eyebrow-quirk in response.

"Maybe you locked it with Vanessa's ass when you were making out against the car." Bracken muttered. The car froze for a second as said blix paused in pulling out her keys. Kendra and Warren tensed, ready to break up a fight, but were shocked when she actually laughed instead.

"Cute, pony boy, very cute." She turned around and put the key in the ignition of the Hummer, still smiling as she pulled out into the street. Warren soon found more entertainment in procuring the Aux cord to play bad country music than he did in teasing them, so Bracken and Kendra let their hands drift together in the middle of the seat. As he turned and flashed a dazzling smile at her, Kendra felt her heart soar. For the first time, in a long time, she was a normal teenage girl.

* * *

By the time they had reached the preserve again, the house was mostly asleep. Kendra noticed Tanu's window was on, and that the kitchen light had been left on. The group trudged softly up the driveway, Kendra on Bracken's back and entered the house as quietly as possible. There was a brief moment of chaos as everyone dumped their keys, wallets, and shoes by the front door before heading for the kitchen.

"Anyone want tea?" Vanessa asked as she began rummaging through the cabinets. Warren hopped up on the kitchen island behind her, looking at the kids over his shoulder.

"I do, how about you two?"

"Yeah," Kendra stretched, happy to be out of her heels. "Tea sounds perfect."

"Same here, thanks V-" Bracken was interrupted by Tanu poking his head into the kitchen and calling the prince over. They spoke in low tones as everyone else pretended not to eavesdrop. Finally, Bracken spun around and regarded them apologetically. "Actually, skip me for tea, sorry. Tanu needs me to look at something, and the sooner the better." He strode over to Kendra, now also seated on the island, and scooped her hand up to press her knuckles to his lips. "Thank you, my princess, for a truly splendid evening. Good night."

"Night, Bracken." She murmured back, smiling softly.

"See you in the AM for chores, dude." Warren yawned.

" _Buenos noches, muchacho del caballo."_ Vanessa smiled.

He spared them all a parting grin and left with Tanu. The remaining three sat in a relaxed silence while Vanessa made the tea.

"Chamomile?" Kendra asked after sometime.

"Nope," Vanessa smiled over her shoulder. "A special night tea of my own design. Relaxes all sorts of muscles. Why don't you guys go get more comfortable while I make this?"

"Pajamas do sound nice right now." Kendra hopped off the island and started the long walk to her room before turning to Warren at the base of the stairs.

"Something up, K?" Warren looked amused.

"I don't want to do the whole stairs thing right now. Can I just borrow one of your giant t shirts and Vanessa's pants?"

"Yeah, why not." He laughed and led her to the room he now practically shared with the narcoblix. Nothing was official, per usual, but there was a decent mix of their belongings in the room. Kendra couldn't care less, it just made getting ready for impromptu tea nights all the easier.

"I'll take the bathroom." Kendra said, though her voice was muffled by the oversized Jurassic Park tee that was thrown over her face. Just as she freed herself from it, a pair of sleep shorts took their place over her eyes. "Thanks."

"Yep." Warren smirked. She stuck her tongue out at him as she closed the door to the bathroom. Once she finished changing out of her dress and wrap, she realized that she was essentially swimming in the clothing she'd been giving. As she pulled her hair up into a messy bun, and used Vanessa's makeup wipes to clean her face, she found she didn't care.

"Oh my god!" Warren all but squealed as she exited the bathroom. "You look adorable!"

"Thanks." Kendra deadpanned, ducking out of the way as Warren moved the grab her for a noogie. She giggled as he lunged again, stepping delicately out of the way and taking off through the door and down the hall. She heard him gaining on her, his laughter as poorly muffled as hers, and sprinted the last few feet into the kitchen. She ran for Vanessa, grabbing the other woman around the waist and putting her between herself and her cousin.

"Vanessa! Vanessa stop him he's trying to noogie me!"

"Nessa move! She stuck her tongue out at me!"

"Warren don't be six." Vanessa chastised, though a second later when he gave up and turned around she stuck her own tongue out at him. Kendra exploded into a fit of giggles with her older friend.

"I saw that!" Warren whirled around. He moved toward them, ready to grab them both, but the kettle whistled just in time.

"Sorry, _chica_ , looks like you're on your own." Vanessa laughed as she moved away to prepare the tea. Kendra turned and fled into the living room, jumping behind the worn leather chair for protection.

"You know, Kens, you're a buzzkill." Warren called from in front of the chair.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"I just don't want to be tickled or noogied or sat on."

"I am offended."

"Don't be so sensitive."

"You know, it's that kind of mindset that-"

"No! No history lesson. Shush!"

"Four score and seven-"

"Warren! Shut up!" Kendra jumped out from behind the chair, tucking into a roll that landed her by the couch. Before Warren could grab her, she had a pillow in her hand. "Don't come any closer! I'll hit you!"

"Wow. So scary." He wiggled his fingers mockingly at her.

"Yeah I am. Fight me."

"I've been trying to."

"Losersaywhat?"

"General Custer."

"What?"

"Ha!" Warren laughed at his own apparent cleverness, and Kendra lunged. They both went flying to the ground, Kendra beating him mercilessly with a pillow until Vanessa walked in, now dressed in her own pajamas.

"Kendra!" she sounded scolding, and the younger girl stopped sheepishly. "I thought you knew better!" Vanessa set the mugs down, reaching behind Kendra and out of her field of vision. "It's only a real pillow fight if it's two on one."

"What!" Warren's yell was cut short by Vanessa's pillow hitting him in the face. Kendra laughed and resumed her assault until she was sweaty and her arms ached. She flopped to the floor, feeling drained.

"That's one way to get in an arm workout."

"Ow. My face hurts." Warren whined from the floor next to her.

"Don't be a baby, Burgess." Vanessa stepped over him, settling onto the couch cross-legged with her tea. Kendra picked herself up off the floor, grabbing her own blue mug on her way to join Vanessa. She curled up next to her on the couch, snuggling into the blix's side as she draped an arm over Kendra.

"Warren, put on a scary movie." Kendra mumbled around her tea, already feeling sleep pull at her.

"You hate scary movies." He grunted as he got off the floor.

"Mind you stitches." Vanessa said.

"I don't hate scary movies. Mostly. They're good for cuddling."

"Not for sleeping." Warren reasoned, though he was already flicking through his Netflix on his phone.

"Yeah, but, Vanessa's drug tea is taking care of that. It'll be fine."

"Whenever either of you says that, nothing is fine." Vanessa muttered.

"Ok, then, it'll all be good. Whichever. Just put on something spooky."

"Halloween is over, Kens."

"Warren! Please?"

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed. "No need to whip out the sad puppy eyes, I've got it."

"Yay." Kendra relaxed into Vanessa again, who was running her nails along Kendra's back soothingly. A few minutes later, the couch cushion besides Kendra dipped as Warren settled in next to her. Without a second thought, she tossed her legs into Warren's lap, smiling as he rested his mug on her calf. She slid further down Vanessa until her head was in her lap.

"You ok to watch a whole movie like that?" Warren sounded extremely amused, though Kendra's foggy brain couldn't understand why.

"Yeah, 'm perfect." she mumbled, sighing as Vanessa began carding her fingers through her hair and Warren started lightly massaging her feet. "Love you guys."

"We love you, too." They whispered back. Kendra could hear their smiles.

She tried her best to focus on the movie, but she only got as far as the first overly dramatic stabbing before she was drifting off into sleep, only half of her mug finished, but feeling more relaxed than she had in weeks.

* * *

"You're sure then?" Bracken felt like his blood pressure had never been higher.

"Unfortunately, yes." Tanu, though calm and collected, looked remorseful and drawn as well. He had called Bracken in to let him know the poisons found in Kendra and Warren's blood were the same, but unfortunately-

"How could we have gotten it out of Warren but not Kendra?" Bracken paced furiously, running his fingers through his silver hair.

"There was definitely a higher potency in Kendra, not to mention we couldn't pull it out through Seth this time. We had to use the slime, which got out most of it, but probably not the foreign ingredients that I've been unable to identify as well."

"So there are a bunch of mysterious unknown toxins floating around in Kendra's bloodstream right now?"

"Yes."

"And there is so far nothing we can do?"

"Also correct."

"Well, shit."

"Listen, man," Tanu sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Maybe her blood will take care of this naturally. So far, no diagnosable problems have presented. She honestly seems fine, if not a little tired. We'll just keep an eye on her, and let her know what's up. For all we know it could be nothing."

"It probably isn't though, since she was targeted."

"Fair enough. Just keep a sharp lookout."

"Thanks, Tanu."

* * *

"Warren."

"Yeah, Ness?"

"She's asleep."

Warren turned to look at her first, then down at his younger cousin. She was indeed fast asleep, snoring softly on Vanessa's thigh. He smiled at the peaceful image before glancing up at the blix.

"What should we do?"

"We can't stay here like this all night, it'd be awful for our backs."

"Not sure about that, this couch is pretty comfy."

"Still," Vanessa paused to yawn wide, her extra teeth pointing out softly in the glow of the television light. "I kinda want my bed."

"Finish the movie and move her?" Vanessa nodded, laying her head against the couch again. "What was in that tea anyway? It knocked her right out."

"Nothing I don't put in it for myself," she shrugged, but then paused contemplatively. "Although, she is a good foot shorter than you or me, with about half the muscle. I think I might have given her a little too much."

"Wow, nice job Ms. Bio Major."

"There's a reason Tanu is the chem teacher, clearly." They both laughed and fell into an easy silence. The terrible cheesy horror movie continued to play out, but Warren found himself more interested in playing with Vanessa's hair. As the movie dragged on, her eyelids drooped lower, until she was just as far gone as Kendra.

"Adorable." Warren muttered to himself, preparing to carry them both to bed before pausing. He was comfy, they were asleep, why not just go to bed? He smiled, muted the girl getting mowed down by a haunted lawnmower, and settled deeper into the couch. One of his arms was Vanessa's pillow, and the other was tossed over Kendra's legs to keep her on the couch. Still, even though he wasn't the comfiest, he felt like the luckiest guy, falling asleep with the two most important girls in his life safe beside him.

* * *

 **If you'll excuse me in heading to the dentist. Special thanks to my co-author feministkendra for pushing me to actually do this. I swear when I say this, without her this fic wouldn't exist. So, shoutout to the realest MVP.**


	8. Ballroom Blitz

**OK LISTEN UP THIS IS IMPORTANT. This chapter is very strongly T-rated. If sex or implied sex makes you feel squicky, don't read past the meeting. You have been warned. We own nothing. Enjoy!**

* * *

To say the least, Kendra was exhausted.

She'd returned to school two weeks ago, and had been thrown full force into prep for midterm exams and annual standardized testing. Cheer practice had picked up to compensate for the approaching end of football season and beginning of winter competition. Vanessa and Tanu's AP classes were getting more work heavy. And to top it all off, she was having nightmares almost every night.

She hoped her dark circles were concealed enough.

And all this was without mentioning the utter nightmare Brittany Favre had become to her. The girl was in almost all of her classes, and was making it a point to show Kendra up in almost every way possible. Plus, when the girls were at practice, she would go out of her way to trip Kendra up or make her look bad in front of the entire team. Before, Kendra would have considered her a nuisance at best. Now, the girl had become an all-out problem.

"Who can tell me who Erwin Rommel was and why he was integral to World War II?" Warren, lecturing on warfare from about two feet in front of Kendra, looked almost as bad. His nights were spent helping Tanu and Bracken with potion and the poison, going through training circuits with Elise or Mara, catching up on chores with Dale, or helping Kendra herself through her nightmares. He was paler than usual, and looked frail in certain lights.

Before Warren could open his mouth to call on Kendra, whose hand went up halfway through the question, the scratchy voice of her personal devil cut through the air.

"He was a general for Hitler who disobeyed the orders he was given because he disagreed with them morally, or whatever, and saved, like, a bunch of Jews."

"Almost correct, Ms. Favre." Warren sighed and glanced apologetically at Kendra before standing up to continue his lecture on Nazi warfare and psychology. She slumped in her seat, closing her eyes to ward off her building headache. She knew she shouldn't be this bothered by some haughty know-it-all, but she was totally out of sync with herself at this point. Two more hours to the weekend and a fantastic nap.

"And that's all I can legally tell you about that particular battle. Any questions? No? Awesome. Have a great weekend guys." Warren all but staggered to his desk to collapse in the overstuffed rolling chair, but the class payed him no mind, everyone drifting to their usual groups of friends to start making plans for the weekend. Kendra felt her eyes drift shut, and a second later the bell was ringing. She grabbed her satchel and walked out of the row of desks as fast as possible, but felt a cheaply-scented presence behind her before she reached the door.

"Aw, what's wrong Adalyn honey?" dripped the overly saturated voice of Brittany. Kendra decided to ignore her. "You look absolutely awful, doll. Something the matter? Not sleep enough?"

Kendra felt her grip on her bag tighten as Brittany's gaggle of girls giggled cruelly.

"You know girl," Brittany pressed on as they rounded the corner of the hall. "If you weren't so busy sleeping with Mr. Burgess, maybe you could catch up on that must needed guilt-sleep, hm?"

Kendra stopped short, jaw nearly dropping as she rounded to face Brittany. The other girl was holding herself high, as if delivering some long-fabled prophecy. She might as well have been. The other students had been whispering about her ever since the Halloween party. Brittany was just about to sum it up for her.

"You know, people have been saying all sorts of things about you since the beginning of the year, Adalyn, but I chose to ignore them, to be the better person," Brittany affected a deeply hurt look for the gathering crowd. "But I really can't do that anymore. Is one just not enough for you? I'm shocked really. Adrian's the hottest dude here, but you're just too greedy, now aren't you?"

Kendra was seething. Her vision was turning white at the edges, and her ears were ringing with adrenaline. Her limbs were loosening in that familiar way they did before she sparred. Somewhere, deep in her mind, a voice was telling her to walk away, to be a bigger person. She stomped it out as Brittany pressed on.

"She was such a better person than you ever will be, you slut. Cammie died that night, Cammie got fucking stabbed, but we all know what really happened," she raised her voice to address the crowd. "We're all thinking the same thing aren't we? It should have been you. You might as well have killed her, bitch."

The crowd gasped, and even Brittany's group of cronies had stepped back, but none of this registered in Kendra's mind as she snapped. She dropped her bag and was flying at Brittany before either had the chance to react. The next few moments seemed to happen in flashes of consciousness.

She slammed into Brittany.

Her fist connected with the other cheerleader's nose.

Someone screamed, but it wasn't Brittany. She was too busy choking on the blood gushing down her chin.

A firm grip caught her around the shoulders and hauled her off the other girl, still kicking and flailing.

"Ken-Adalyn! What on earth?" Warren's voice shouting in her face brought her back down to earth.

"What? Warren?" Kendra struggled to take control of herself again.

"That's Mr. Burgess to you, young lady, for the last time. I don't know what is going on here, or what happened to provoke you like this, but I am completely disappointed in you," Kendra's head snapped to meet her cousin's glare. "Move it. The principal is waiting for you."

Warren ushered her down the hall as the school nurse arrived to deal with Brittany. She kept her head down, still somewhat feeling as though she was swimming through her own consciousness. She was vaguely aware of the shamed flush creeping up her neck, and Warren's firm grip on her shoulder. A few agonizing minutes, multiple corridors, and the confused glances of her schoolmates, they were standing in front of the imposing oak doors that led into the principal's office. Kendra hazarded a glance at Warren, who was taking a seat in the waiting area just beside the doors.

"Well?" he prompted, Kendra flinching at his tone. She sighed, steeled herself, and pushed through to the room that held her waiting grandfather.

* * *

"Kendra, I can honestly say I'm shocked."

Sitting in the hard wooden chair before her grandpa and his large desk, Kendra felt 14 again, being reprimanded for straying too far into the woods.

"I'm sorry, Grandpa. I really don't know what else to say. I'm sorry."

"Kendra, this has never happened before. Nothing like this, at least," He sighed, tossing his glasses onto the surface of the desk with a clatter. "Kendra, I know enough about teenage girls and hormones and all that stuff to know this wasn't that. Something is wrong, and I hope you trust me enough to tell me, dear."

"I don't know!" Kendra practically yelled, her lip wobbling dangerously as her vision blurred. "I don't know, grandpa, I don't know. I feel so wrong all the time lately. Something's just wrong with me and I am angry and sad all the time and I am so tired!"

By the time she finished her rant, she was sobbing and hiccupping. Grandpa Stan looked shocked, but she pressed on before he could speak.

"I didn't want to hit her, but she was just being so horrible to me and before I could walk away it was like some other part of me took over. Like autopilot, except it wasn't me. I wasn't in control, I was watching it happen. I didn't mean to. I didn't."

Grandpa Stan rounded the desk to kneel by her chair and take her shaking hands.

"Ok, Kendra, sweetie. Ok. I believe you. I know you. You would never do this, not like this. It's ok. We'll figure it out. It'll be ok."

Kendra let him pull her to her feet and into a consoling hug. She knew her grandfather wasn't the master of affection, and was grateful for his momentary lapse in character.

"It's after second period. I'll ask Tanu to bring you home. We'll talk about this after dinner later tonight. Go rest."

Kendra nodded, stepping out of her grandfather's hold to pick up her back and wipe her cheeks clear of any stray tears. She turned to walk about, but paused at Stan's voice.

"Oh, and Kendra, act like I gave you detention."

* * *

Kendra sat in her bedroom, waiting for the others to get home. She'd fallen asleep from exhaustion as soon as Tanu got her home, and had awoken to the mid-afternoon sun in her eyes. She still felt wrong, deep inside, and was tempted to roll over and sleep through dinner, but knew that she had to face the music sooner or later. Sure enough, not 5 minutes later, the front door slammed open and a cacophony of voices poured through the house.

"Seth wait-"

Kendra jolted from her trance as her brother's footsteps pounded up the stairs to the attic and onto the landing. The door swung open and Seth's face poked in.

"Hey Kendra," he said, smiling nervously. "Heard about all that. You gave her a real shiner at least!" Kendra tried for a smile, but it came across as a grimace. "Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to go down to the pond? I've got to take pictures of the leaves for Elise's class."

"Maybe another time, Seth." she said softly.

"Yeah, alright," he sighed, dropping his bag by the bed and grabbing his camera. "At least come down with me? It's no good hiding up here. It'll just make dinner worse."

"Ok." she pushed herself off the bed, lightly bumping Seth's fist when he held it out expectantly. He whooped, and took off down the stairs like he'd just won the Olympics. Little brothers, man.

As Kendra padded into the kitchen to get a glass of milk, she could feel the shifting emotions around the house almost like a breeze. She grabbed the bottle out of the refrigerator and closed it just in time to see Warren enter the kitchen. She took a deep breath and steeled herself as she retrieved a glass.

"Hey." she said as pleasantly as she could muster.

"Hi." he grunted back, not meeting her eyes as she turned to look at him. He sat staring fixedly at his phone, texting away.

"How was the rest of your day?" she tried again.

"Fine."

"Any interesting classes."

"No."

"How about-"

"I have to go." He snatched an apple from the bowl on the island, glanced at her regretfully, and left. Kendra put the still empty glass down, and tried to fight through the tears in her eyes and the painful ache in her sternum. Finally, she couldn't hold back anymore, and fled the kitchen. She needed someone, anyone, who would understand. Who wouldn't look at her with such negativity. Her feet took her to Vanessa's door, where she tried to keep her knocking as un-frantic as possible.

"Yes?" Vanessa opened the door genially, only to pause at Kendra's clearly upset demeanor. She quickly pulled the younger girl inside and closed the door. "What's up, _mija_?"

Kendra didn't answer verbally, instead launching herself into Vanessa's torso. Her arms latched around the taller woman's waist, and a beat later, tentative arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"He-he- _he hates me!_ " Kendra sobbed, letting all her stresses about her older cousin come pouring out. "He won't even look at me anymore, and he thinks I'm awful, and horrible, and I don't know what to do. Vanessa, what do I do?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Kendra," Vanessa hugged her tighter, combing her fingers through Kendra's hair. "Slow down, honey, you lost me. Who on earth are you talking about?"

"Warren!"

"What?" Vanessa pulled her back by the shoulders to look her in the eye. "You think Warren hates you? What happened?"

Kendra sat down heavily on Vanessa's bed, still crying but not as loudly. Vanessa sat down next to her and wrapped her arms back around her.

"You heard about the fight today? What I did?" the blix nodded so Kendra pushed on. "Well, Warren broke up the fight and sent me to the office, and now he won't look at me, or talk to me. He did that thing with Bracken a while ago, and he's always getting injured because of me. He hates me, Vanessa, I just know it."

"Oh, Kendra, sweetheart," Vanessa pulled her close to rest her head on Kendra's. "Warren loves you so much it hurts him. He overreacted with the Bracken thing, sure, but he apologized didn't he? And with this, I am certain it isn't you. Warren, he-" she broke off with a sigh, gazing off distantly. "I really shouldn't be the one to tell you this, and it will still do you better to get the details from him, but Warren doesn't do well with domestic-type violence situations."

"What? Why?" Kendra strained her neck to look at Vanessa.

"Well, his dad wasn't exactly a peaceful man, or a kind father. Believed a little too harshly in corporal punishment and discipline, y'know?"

"He was abusive?"

"Yeah," Vanessa said softly, resting her head back on Kendra's. "And it's really messed Warren up. I think that, after seeing you be so peaceful and patient for so long that it shocked him to see that you're human like the rest of us. Not saying it's a bad thing. Personally, I would've done more to that girl. But you did what you did and some are more surprised than others."

"It wasn't me though, Vanessa," Kendra pulled away to search her friend's eyes. "You have to understand that, it wasn't me. Something inside me took over, something made me angry and violent. And I'm scared."

"I guess that's what we're meeting about tonight then," Vanessa sighed, brushed some of Kendra's hair back. "Don't worry, Kendra, we all still love you. And once this is all sorted out, you and Warren will be able to work through this. We won't stop fighting for you."

"Thanks, Vanessa."

* * *

Vanessa was running her fingers through Kendra's long hair, contemplating the day's strange turn of events, when a knock at her door interrupted the peaceful moment.

"Hey, Nessa," Warren stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the hallway light as he peered into the now-dark room. "Are we going to the...Kendra? Is that you?"

Kendra froze like a deer in the headlights as Warren flicked on the soft lights in the room to see better. Warren seemed to stop for a moment, too, as he took in his cousin's red eyes and Vanessa's hold on her.

"Is everything-"

"Warren, I'm sorry," Vanessa interrupted softly, but with steel underlying her words. "But I need you to go."

"Excuse me?" Warren looked bewildered.

"You heard me. Get out, please."

"What?" Warren was incredulous now, and probably offended. Kendra buried her head in Vanessa's neck, uncharacteristically fearful of her cousin and probably too exhausted to handle it.

"Warren, we've all had a long day, and right now, what you and Kendra need is space. She's in here right now, and you should respect that. I will talk to you later. Now, get out."

He lingered in the doorway another moment, and Vanessa hoped her eyes didn't betray the inner turmoil she was feeling at coming between the two, but she knew she was right. They couldn't be around each other right now. Warren turned on his heel, glowering, and left. The door practically slammed shut, making Kendra jump. Vanessa frowned, as Kendra was not one to shy away from conflict or loud noise. She was strong.

Something was definitely not right.

"Why'd you do that?" came the voice from her shoulder.

"Because, _mija_ ," Vanessa sighed, pulling Kendra's legs onto her lap. "Now he's probably more angry at me than you, and he'll spend dinner glaring at me not you. I'll talk to him after that meeting tonight, and you can get some rest. It'll be better in the morning, I promise."

"Alright," Kendra sighed shakily, relaxing into her. They sat for another ten or so minutes in silence, listening to the creatures in Vanessa's room moving around. There were fewer than the first batch, and better cages, but still a strange host of fauna. All too soon, though, Ruth was calling them for dinner, leaving Kendra with no choice but to get up and head to the table.

* * *

After the tensest dinner of her young life, Kendra found herself sitting stiffly on the couch in grandfather's study next to Bracken. He had yet to comment on the day's events, but hadn't let go of her hand since meeting her at dinner.

"Unfortunately, I have only bad news for you all tonight. However, this bad news can also be counted a progress towards ending the mission in our favor. Tanu?"

"This isn't going to be easy to say one way or another," the Samoan man paused to take a breath, and Kendra felt Bracken's hand squeeze hers tighter. "Kendra and Warren are still poisoned, and we have reason to believe that about 40% of the student body is now as well."

The already tense air thickened to the point of being comical. Kendra swallowed the bile in her throat down at the news, not particularly surprised. Warren, though, looked like he'd been punched in the gut. Emotions flit across his face unchecked; anger, incredulity, sadness, guilt. He looked like Kendra felt.

"How is this possible?" Mara spoke up from Elise's side.

"Whoever is running this whole show behind the scenes has been slowly poisoning the student population," Tanu pressed on. "Think about it, how many of you have said the kids have been getting moodier, or meaner, or sadder, and blamed it on midterms, SATs, home issues, teenage angst, whatever."

"Oh shit." Trask groaned and dropped his head into his hands and began massaging his temples. "I must be the worst forensics teacher and detective on the planet."

"We're all the worst spies ever hired." Vanessa muttered, prompting a sardonic snort out of Elise.

"Who said you were being paid?" Stan mumbled, making everyone laugh quietly. They sobered up a moment later, though, when Warren spoke up.

"So what's wrong with us?"

"The poison, it's affecting your limbic system. Your emotions are all out of whack, and you'll probably notice you've been feeling more and more angry or sad, or are more easily upset. Without getting into the confusing details, this poison is acting as a parasite. It's going to infect you little by little until you lose control of your emotions essentially, followed by your mind as a whole."

"And whoever is running this is going to take over, I assume?"

"This sounds like a bad comic book plot." Elise muttered.

"Basically, to both," Tanu sighed, wringing his hands lightly. "Right now, we don't have an antidote. However, you can slow the process by resisting. Start meditating, exercising more, laughing, etc. Release endorphin."

"This is like you're telling a depressed person to just keep smiling." Seth said.

"Unfortunately, Seth."

"So what do we do now?"

"Keep your eyes and ears open," Trask took charge, Tanu clearly not having an answer as he shrugged. "Our guy is someone who would be able to interract with and infect students daily without raising any alarms. A teacher. Probably not the most outgoing, but someone who has a good relationship with his or her students. Someone who could offer them food or the like without suspicion."

"So we're looking at art, music, language, and culinary." Vanessa raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Trask nodded. "Teacher in the liberal arts often have more personal relationships with their students."

"I'll keep an eye out around the studio." Elise said as she pushed up out of her seat and offered a hand to Mara. "For now, I want to turn it. I fully intend on sleeping till 4, the earliest. Night all!"

As she and Mara walked from the room, Trask and Vanessa rose to leave as well. The older woman touched Kendra gently on the shoulder as she walked by, and let her dragging hand ruffle Bracken and Seth's hair as well.

"Night, kids."

"Only one of us is still a kid, you know. I'm a month over 18." Kendra replied.

"I'm older than you!" Bracken called out. Vanessa only waved a dismissive hand over her shoulder in response. Seth rose next, throwing a peace sign and a yawn over his shoulder before leaving. Warren was left besides them, still sitting in his chair and staring intently at the floor.

"Warren, everything ok?" Stan spoke from his desk.

"What?" his head snapped up, and he looked around disorientedly. "Oh wow. Yeah, yeah I'm alright. Uh, night all." He rose unsteadily, still looking dazed, and left the room.

"Strange, but not so strange I'm concerned." Stan muttered before turning back to his paperwork.

"Goodnight, grandpa." Kendra stood, still holding Bracken's hand. He nodded at the two of them as he pulled open his desk drawer. As they walked through the halls to Bracken's room, Kendra tried to stave off the self-deprecating thoughts of why Warren still hadn't looked at her yet. She wasn't as confused now, knowing he was also going through what she was, but there was still a dull ache in her chest.

"C'mon princess," Bracken shut the door softly behind him as they entered the room, sparsely furnished yet just personal enough. "Let's get ready for bed."

* * *

"Vanessa!"

Warren put on some speed to catch up to the blix, shoving his foot in her door just as she closed it. He grunted in pain.

"Oh god, Warren." She yanked the door back open. "Sorry. What do you need?"

"To know why you took Kendra's side, why you kicked me out earlier, why you spent all dinner avoiding me."

"Come in." Vanessa said softly, pulling open the door. He stepped in gently, knowing most her usually vicious animals would be, thankfully, asleep right now. There was a certain Tibetan monk lizard he had no intention of waking, lest he lose a finger.

"I really don't want to fight," he sighed, taking her hands in his once she had shut the door again. He could barely see her, the only light in the room coming from the nearly-full moon outside. "I just want to know."

"I just wanted her to feel safe, Warren." Vanessa ran a hand through her hair. "She was upset, and afraid, of herself and you, and she needed a space for a bit. I'm sorry I was harsh about it, but I wouldn't change a thing I said or did."

"She was afraid of me?"

* * *

Vanessa thought her heart might break. She had never heard Warren sound so broken, so torn up before.

"Well, not you, per say, but that you were mad at her for what she did, dissapointed in her. She thought that you wanted nothing to do with her."

"Oh no, oh god no," Warren sat down heavily on her bed and took a shuddering breath. "I was shocked about it, and confused. I was just trying to figure it out in my head. I was so afraid, that she had done something irreversible and horrible, and I didn't know how to help her. I didn't mean to abandon her."

Vanessa sat down softly next to Warren, and felt her heart shatter a little more to see the tears dripping silently down his cheeks.

"She isn't your father, Warren," Vanessa placed her hand along his jaw to make his eyes meet hers in the dark. "And neither are you. You two are stronger than this. Talk to her tomorrow, fix the damage while you can. It'll be okay."

He nodded, scrubbing quickly at his damp cheeks. Vanessa pretended to look at the moon to let him save a little face. Suddenly, something occurred to her.

"Hey, wanna see something awesome?" she turned to him excitedly, bouncing off the bed when he nodded cautiously. She quickly drew the dark curtain shut, effectively blotting out the moon and plunging the room into darkness. She crosses over to long cylindrical cage, feeling by instinct for the latch.

"Uh, Vanessa, I'm starting to get creepy horror movie vibes."

"Hello, Clarice."

"Ha, ha. Funny."

"It puts the lotion in the basket..."

Before Warren could stem her flow of horror movie lines with sarcasm, the top of the cage gave way and the sharp flutter of about eighty fly paper wings filled the room.

"Nessa, what the f-"

And suddenly light was everywhere. The moths she had released settled along the ceiling and the walls, tiny starts making constellations in the dark. Vanessa couldn't keep the smile off her face as Warren stood and crossed the room to her.

"Your own design?"

"They're a late birthday gift for Kendra. That weekend you had the party I was in Brazil catching these guys' great grandparents."

"Why do they glow?"

"I'm tempted to say magic, but it's actually bioluminescent genetics. I crossed the second generation with DNA from a lizard that glows in the water."

"Amazing." he breathed out, stepping closer to her while craning his neck to take in the little bugs and the soft white glow. Vanessa fought a blush off her face as he finished his little tour and he dropped his gaze to her. His eyes seemed to be searching hers for something, and she wasn't sure whether it was approval, or a promise, or hesitation.

Vanessa wasn't sure who moved first, but a second later she was in his arms, kissing him fervently. They were still for a brief moments, and then there were hands everywhere. Somewhere between the moth cage and the bed she lost her jacket, shirt, and shoes. Warren's shirt and undershirt were abandoned by one of the fish tanks. They collapsed onto the bed, still making out like teenagers.

"Is this ok?" Warren pulled back briefly, but not so far that she couldn't feel his breath on her lips, as he fumbled with the clasp of her jeans.

"Yes, yes, it's more than ok, now let's go back to kissing me." He did just that, and as the two shed the rest of their clothing, poison and imminent danger were the last things on their minds.

Nearly an hour later, the moths on the ceiling were still glowing, and Vanessa was curled into Warren's chest, neither breathing gently yet, hands still roaming the other post-euphoria.

"Thank you." Warren murmured into her ear some fifteen minutes later. She turned to look at him, pulling her gaze away from the scars she was tracing. His eyes were deep with an emotion she was still to afraid to give a name.

"For?" he smiled softly at her accent, always thicker when she was tired.

"The endorphin boost, of course." She swatted his chest lightly. "And for being there to snap me out of being a jackass when it happens. For getting me out of my own head."

"Seems like a lawless plane of chaos on a good day. And I'm always up for a project."

"Aw, babe, you're giving me cavity."

"Goodnight Warren."

"'Night, Nessa."

* * *

Two doors down, another pair slept softly under gentle lights. Bracken held Kendra close as she slept, watching her face for any signs of nightmare or discomfort. His mind was running at full power, going through the faces and names of fellow students, of teachers. He reviewed old enemies of his kingdom in his mind, old enemies of the dragons, even old enemies of the blixes. He continued down dead end after dead end, his frustration mounting through the night at the thought of being unable to stop the force that was coming to take away his newfound family, his newfound happiness, his princess.

It was many hours before he found the solace of sleep his friends had.

 **This chapter was whirlwind. Thoughts on our poisoned friends? On what's next? Drop a comment if you have any guesses! Thanks for reading**


	9. It's EQ Turkener Day

**So this is late. And long. Enjoy.**

* * *

" _Kendra, can we talk?"_

 _Warren's voice came from inside the house. Kendra was sat on the porch, watching the few remaining leaves on the trees get taken by the wind. The day was brisk, and cloudy, but not unpleasant. Rain was threatening, and the air was so quiet that it felt like she was isolated from all the world by oceans._

" _Um, sure. What's up." Kendra shifted on the swing to make room for her cousin. They both pretended not to notice that she moved much further to the opposite side than she normally would._

" _Kendra," he sat down gingerly, as if trying not to shatter the calm altogether. "The way I treated you yesterday, about the fight, wasn't ok."_

" _It's whatever," she shifted to look out across the yard again. Rain had started to drip out of the clouds. "Poison and all that, right? It's fine."_

" _No, Kendra," she flinched at the steel in his tone. "It isn't alright. Stop making excuses for me. Everyone has to stop making excuses for me. I fucked up. And it hurt you, one of the only people in my life left for me to protect."_

" _Warren, I'm a big girl." Kendra scowled. "I can handle myself."_

" _That shouldn't be an attitude you have about me. I'm your cousin, I'm family. We aren't meant to hurt each other."_

 _Kendra let her head drop, turning slightly to prevent Warren from seeing her eyes tear up._

" _I'm sorry, Kendra. I'm so, so sorry." Warren sounded close to tears himself, but his overgrown mop of brown hair stopped her from seeing his eyes. He needed a haircut._

" _Why, Warren?" she found she couldn't keep her voice from wobbling. "Why did you yell at me like that? And then ignore me? I know I messed up, but…"_

" _No, you're right. How I acted was uncalled for," Warren sighed deeply, then scrubbed his hand down his face. "Kendra, violence and I aren't friends. I know, shocking, but there's a difference between learning martial arts, and defensive combat, and being trained, and hurting people for the sake of hurting. My dad was...not a kind man. He hurt me and Dale very badly for a long time, until your grandparents saved us. But that shit, it doesn't leave you. And yesterday just hit a little too close to home. Knowing the story now, I stand behind you completely, but at the time, I was just so worried that somehow that trait had found its way to you. I reacted poorly either way, and it only hurt you more. I am so sorry Kendra. I don't know how I'll ever make this up to you."_

" _You just did." Kendra launched herself at Warren, wrapping her arms around him in a fierce hug. Tears were tracking down her face, and she could feel his shoulders shaking when he returned her embrace. "I was so scared, Warren. I was so scared you hated me, that I had let you down. I was so scared."_

" _Oh god, Kendra," he sobbed into her hair. "Please don't be scared of me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please don't. I'm not my dad, I'm not. Don't be scared." He trailed off, repeating his words over and over. They clung to each other fiercely, neither noticing the storm was picking up around them, upending lawn furniture, battering trees, and stripping away the remnants of warm October._

 _By the time they were calm enough to pull apart, the rain was pouring down in droves. One of the decorative imp statues had been shattered, and was being strewn across the garden. Kendra mopped her eyes with her sleeve, meeting Warren's eyes a second later._

" _I think it's raining." Kendra murmured. Warren seemed to consider this for a second before laughing at her observation, first chuckling lowly, but soon laughing almost hysterically. Kendra found it to be contagious, and soon let her own giggles overtake her._

" _Nah, it's just drizzling."_

Now, one week later, Kendra sat in English, absentmindedly doodling Ophelia's final moments as the teacher droned on about Shakespeare's missing boyfriend. Normally, Kendra would be fascinated. However, it was five minutes to Thanksgiving break, and she was already looking forward to the afternoon meditation and nap she had planned. The poison was starting to take it's toll on her, and she was feeling more drained than ever lately.

"...Brittany still isn't back…" a voice whispered distantly behind her. "...heard her nose...yeah, says she wants surgery…"

"Surgery can't fix a face like hers…" another voice whispered back, snickering. "...her dad's already paid for her to try like eight times…"

Kendra sighed, popping the earbud she left on the desk into her ear. She could feel their eyes on her, and knew her movement hadn't gone unnoticed. None of her movements had since the incident. People whispered, sneered, laughed, and sometimes praised. She certainly wasn't a nobody anymore. A month ago, she wouldn't have let any of it phase her. Now, though, each comment seemed to twist the knife in her brain a little more.

"And that's why-oh my!" the teacher started, doing a double take at the time on the clock. "We're just about over. Be sure to finish Hamlet over the weekend. And have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!"

The last of her words were drowned out by the shrill ringing of the bell. Kendra sighed, stretched, and shovelled her notes into her bag, slinging it over her shoulder on her way to her locker.

"Hey sis!" Kendra fought back a groan as Seth's loud voice slammed into her like a wall.

"Hey Seth. What's up?" she fiddled with her lock until it popped open, and began collecting her coat, books, and heavy boots for the muddy driveway back home. Vanessa had finally relented and bought her the designer boots she'd been eyeing for months, she wasn't about to drag them through the torn up driveway.

"Just waiting on Vanessa and Warren. Bracken is already at the diner, his last class let out early. Ready to roll?"

"I guess." Kendra shrugged and let her locker drift shut, snapping her lock into place.

"Alright!" Seth grinned. She had to hand it to him, he wasn't letting her or Warren get him down. If anything, he went out of his way to be enthusiastic in the face of their gloom. It was his way of support, Kendra figured. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Vanessa, letting her know where they'd be before following her brother out of the front doors.

* * *

Vanessa sighed, pushing her hair out her face for what felt like the millionth time. She'd been staring at the same short answer response for twenty minutes and couldn't make sense of what the student was trying to say.

"If oxygen enters the lung area and then travels up the left artery ventricle to the brain and then through the body with neurons and transmission signals- ok, nope, fuck it," she huffed angrily through her nose, scrawling an angry zero next to the questions with the comment _illegible and nonsensical_ underneath. She tossed the final test on the pile and let herself finally relax.

" _Hola,_ Vanessa!"

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

"Hey, Romeo," she forced a polite smile onto her face, not letting it falter even as his eyes flicked over her body when she stood up. "Can I help you?"

"Well, you see, I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to go grab lunch? Celebrate the last day? You never got back to me on the whole date thing so I was wondering if everything was ok?"

Vanessa almost sneered at his false sincerity and concern, but turned toward her lab table before he could see it.

"I'm truly sorry, Romeo, if I was unclear," she spoke clearly, authoritatively, when she met his eyes again. "But I'm just not interested like that. I hope we can still be friends."

She didn't, really, but it was nice to attempt politeness.

"What? _Novio!_ " she shuddered at the pet name, one she usually reserved for Warren or Kendra or Seth. "You can't be serious? C'mon what's one date between friends? You won't regret it, I promise."

"Funny, every time a man has said that to me, I've immensely regretted whatever follows," she let her smile drop. "No, Romeo. I do not want to go on a date with you. And if you keep this up, we won't be friends. Not anymore."

"Is there someone else?" he sneered, a rather unflattering look on his frail face. She was about to tell him there was and to kindly screw off, when a voice interrupted from the doorway.

"Yes, there is. And frankly, he's tired of seeing your scrawny ass in here."

Romeo turned to Warren, who was casually leaning on the doorframe. His eyes betrayed his relaxed stance as they bore holes into Romeo's, the intensity of his glare enough to give even Vanessa pause.

"Oh, of course," Romeo spat. "The pasty history major. Why am I not surprised?"

Vanessa decided to let the testosterone problem in the room handle itself; she had a lot to get put away before she could leave, and it made more sense to do it while they decided to out-macho each other.

"What's going on out here?" Tanu's voice spoke lowly from the doorway of the office a few minutes later. Neither Warren nor Romeo had noticed over their glaring and arguing.

"Jealous guy problems. Thought I could get more work done if they burned each other out."

"Ah, smart move," Tanu chuckled, stepping out of the office and turning to lock the door. "I've no interest in getting caught in some primal mating display, so I'll take the back door out."

"See you at dinner, Tanu." Vanessa chuckled, setting the last of her tests in a drawer and locking it.

"Look, buddy," Warren's voice sounded strained, and she looked over to check on things. He looked pale, clammy, and like he was holding himself back from jumping the smaller Romeo. "She told you no. Back off. Regardless of me, a lady says no you leave her alone."

"Is that how they teach it here? Explains a bit."

"Hey!" she snapped, catching both men's attention. She strode over to stand by Warren, touching his shoulder and looking Romeo straight in the eye. "I am my own person. I said no. I have no interest in you, I never did, and I most certainly never will now. Get out of my room, and don't ever speak to me again. I can kick your ass nine ways to Sunday, and that's a promise. Leave me alone, and leave Warren alone." Romeo still hadn't moved, only stood silently fuming. Vanessa slammed her foot into the ground, advancing toward him slightly. " _¡Salí! ¡Cerdo asqueroso!_ "

Romeo jumped back at her shout, before turning and practically running from the room. Her threw some choice words back at her, but she ignored them as she focused on Warren. He looked ill, and angrier than should.

"What are you looking at?" he sneered at her. She closed her eyes, reminding herself it was the poison talking, not Warren.

"Warren, _mi corazon_ , calm down. You're alright." She pressed her forehead to his, and then her lips to his lips. When they pulled apart, he looked mildly less angry.

"Sorry." he grunted, not meeting her eyes.

"I know. It's ok. Let's go get the kids."

* * *

A few short hours later, Kendra found herself on the floor of her room, eyes shut tight, legs crossed, and mind clear. Sort of.

"Breathe in… and breathe out…" Bracken's voice was calm, and level. Like an ocean coaxing grains of sand into its waves. "In...out...your body is a mountain, your thoughts a gentle stream."

It was driving her insane.

"Kendra," Bracken's voice never faltered. "You're fidgeting."

"Of course I'm fidgeting. I've never been more bored."

"I know, but this will help. Imagine yourself calming your body, little by little, from your toes to your mind."

"This is dumb."

"As you breath in, imagine your body filling with sand, every inch, anchoring you to the earth. Now, exhale, and feel your body lift as its weight leaves it."

Kendra complied, although she mentally rolled her eyes. However, as she exhaled a third time, she noticed her shoulders were much less tense than they had been a few minutes before.

"Excellent." Bracken's voice was still level, resting as if in a cradle. Like a pendulum. "Now, start putting today in the bookshelf, just like Vanessa taught you."

Once again, Kendra set about following his words, and found that when she tried, her eyelids felt too heavy to open. She was vaguely aware of Bracken shifting to stand and move to sit behind her, and registered his hands massaging her back. She did not pause in her meditation, not even when he started humming.

By the time the day was organized in her mind, Kendra's head felt so pleasantly light that it was almost dizzying. She opened her eyes at last, and started when she realized it was dark out. Bracken's hands had long since drifted off her shoulders, and he now lay on her bed, snoring softly. She stood, rolled her neck pleasantly, and crawled into bed to join him. She silently thanked her grandparents for realizing she needed her own room, as well as Mara and Elise for agreeing to bunk together.

"Huh? Whazzup" Bracken came out of his sleep slightly, looking around disorientedly. "Kendra? Princess? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, go back to sleep. They'll wake us up for dinner." Kendra pulled her soft throw blanket up to cover them, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Oh, okay. I like dinner." Bracken turned to her, and tucked her head under his chin, tangling their legs together at the same time.

"Me too, babe." She yawned, and drifted off into dreamland with her prince seconds later, feeling freer and happier than she had all week.

* * *

The following morning was busier than ever in the best ways possible. It was finally Thanksgiving, and the entire preserve was abuzz with anticipation. Kendra awoke at the crack of dawn to meet Vanessa, Tanu, and her grandmother in the kitchen.

Warren and Dale had set off to find enough firewood to keep the hearth going all day and night. Seth and Bracken were rallying the satyrs for a game of backyard football. Trask and Stan were glued to the couch by 8 am, already watching the game day pre-shows on ESPN. Elise and Mara had gone off to find leaves and flowers for the centerpiece and decor for the day. With all the bustling activity and warmth of family, Kendra had a hard time dwelling on a bad mood.

"Kendra, dear," Grandma interrupted her train of thought. "Can you grab the turkey basters out of the drawer? We'll need about three."

"Sure thing, grandma."

For the next few hours, the girls and Tanu worked around each other, reaching over, ducking under, cutting, chopping, boiling, seasoning. By the time noon had rolled around, the turkey was in the oven, half of the potatoes needed were mashed, and a wide array of vegetables had been sliced and seasoned and were now waiting to be cooked. Vanessa and Kendra were pulling apart bread for the stuffing, and Tanu was peeling the rest of the potatoes. Some had gotten in his hair, but he didn't seem to notice as he hummed contentedly.

"Morning, ladies!" Warren called from the living room, Dale shouting a hello behind him as they dumped the logs by the fireplace.

"Good morning, handsome!" Tanu called back in an overly dramatic feminine tone. Kendra bursted out laughing, Vanessa quick to follow. Warren wandered in, looking confused, until he saw Tanu sitting at the island and started laughing, too.

"Sorry man," he choked out. "I thought you were with Seth and Bracken."

"No problem, sugarpie." Tanu had yet to drop the high-pitched voice. Kendra and Vanessa laughed harder, to the point where Kendra thought she was going to suffocate. Warren was trying to look annoyed, but his facial muscles were spasming, and Tanu kept battling long eyelashes he didn't have at him.

" _Anyway_ ," Warren chuckled once the laughter had died down. "How much longer till you guys can let everything sit? The boys are getting antsy for a football game, and I really don't want to take on a bunch of goats and a couple of teenagers alone."

"Someone's getting old." Vanessa teased.

"Look who's talking, babe." Warren smirked. Kendra and Vanessa flicked bread crust at him.

"I think we're about done here." Tanu said, dropping the last slick potato into a pot of water. "I'm always down to pummel a couple of fawns."

"Don't you mean satyrs?"

"Whatever."

"I could lecture you for a solid hour on why that isn't 'whatever'." Vanessa muttered, shovelling her pile of bread crumbs off the island counter and into one of grandma's ceramic dishes. She handed it to Kendra to follow suit.

"You definitely have in the office at school," Tanu chuckled as he shoved his feet into his sneakers. "Multiple times."

"That's just me talking to myself." Vanessa flapped a hand dismissively and hopped off the bar stool.

"Only mildly concerning." Kendra remarked, placing the dish on the counter and going to the front door to get her shoes and jacket. The men laughed, and Vanessa stuck her tongue out jokingly. Five minutes later, they were all dressed warmer and with proper shoes and heading out the screen door to the back yard.

"43! 89! 52! Hike!"

Seth, Bracken, and satyrs were running around the yard haphazardly, clearly not giving much thought to yards or end zones. Kendra was surprised when Grandpa had finally relented and allowed Newel, Doren, and Verl to enter the protected space. Then again, they really were harmless, and couldn't enter the house. It was fair enough after their bravery at the demon prison.

"Ah, crap!" Seth shouted as Bracken caught him around the middle in a flying tackle. "Jeez, dude. You should've tried out for the team."

"Eh, sorry," Bracken climbed off of Seth, offering the younger boy a hand to get up with. "Not really into physical brutality over something so trivial as a ball."

"And yet you have no problem shattering my spine over a pickup game in the yard," Seth quipped dryly, accepting the hand and pulling himself up. "Seems about right, Mr. Existential."

"Kendra!" Verl interrupted them, perking up at the sight of the fairykind girl. "Are you joining us?"

"No, they're joining us." Bracken cut in, much sharper than normal. "Human on human game only form here on out, sorry."

"What? Why?" Verl whined, as Doren muttered, "He's a blazing horse. And she's a blix. This is rigged, Newel, I tell you."

"Couldn't agree more, Doren."

"Because," Seth spoke up loudly. "You have hooves and we don't. In a game with more people, you could seriously hurt one of us."

"I guess that's fair." Newel and Doren shrugged.

"I would never hurt Kendra!" Verl feigned mortal wound. "How dare you insinuate such debauchery." Kendra giggled, altogether amused by the scene before her. Tanu and Warren had gone off to find a sticks for the end zones.

"Not on purpose, you moron." Doren rolled his eyes. "But accidents happen. You can barely walk straight without hitting a tree, let alone run and tackle gently. And besides that, Bracken and Seth are bold young men, no problem hurting them. But Vanessa and Kendra are ladies. We must tread with poise."

The older fawn was clearly preening for Vanessa, who was entirely unimpressed.

"On that sexist note," she snipped. "Shouldn't you be off?"

"If the lady doth wish it." Newel collected a blue scarf off the ground, Doren picking up a red.

"Oh, she does."

"Well then, Happy Thanksgiving Sorensons! Enjoy your feast!" The satyrs bowed messily before trotting off into the woods.

"We all ready to go?" Warren called from the distant end of the yard, jamming sticks into the ground. They all flashed him a thumbs up, and Seth whooped and went to the general middle of the makeshift field.

"Adults versus younger people!" he called.

"That literally leaves all of us against you, turd." Warren laughed, ruffling Seth's hair as he passed.

"Wha-? Oh. Right," Seth rolled his eyes. "Warren, Tanu, and Vanessa against me, Kendra, and Bracken."

"Sounds solid." Tanu grinned and stretched.

"Sounds grossly unfair." Kendra protested, but lined up next to Bracken, who was hiking to Seth, anyway.

"76! 29! Uh..2! Hike!"

And the game was off. Bracken immediately sprinted toward the goal, but rapidly found Vanessa on his tail, blocking him. Kendra slammed into Warren, who was going for Seth, and clung to his torso with her arms and tangled her legs with his. They both went down, laughing hard, but looked up in time to see Seth get around Tanu and sprint for the end zone, flagged by Grandma's summer tiki lights.

"Yes! Woo hoo!" Seth cheered as he slid into the end zone. Vanessa had been too distracted shadow boxing a chuckling Bracken to stop him.

"Nessa! What the f-hell!" Warren shouted, his grin betraying his angry tone.

"At least I stayed on my feet, jerk!"

"You both suck." Tanu asserted.

"Yo let's go, team!" Seth was jumping around like a madman, high from his victory. Kendra scrambled off Warren and joined her teammates on the new "line".

"You're going down, pipsqueak." Warren taunted her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

And so it continued for the rest of the afternoon. They eventually began keeping actual score, and roughly sketched out the yard lines. Around 2, Trask, Dale and Stan came out to watch, laughing and cheering, occasionally booing good-naturedly. Mara and Elise eventually wandered out of the woods, arms full of leaves. They deposited them on the porch, and then joined the game, Elise with the younger side and Mara with the others. Trask soon wandered down to ref, and Grandma came out to join Grandpa.

It was the first time the whole "family" had been together in one spot, and Kendra felt elated. Everyone was smiling and laughing and joking around, even Mara and Trask, the most stoic of the group. If Kendra was being honest, it was the first time the group felt like an actual family. She could get used to this.

Eventually, the other team gained the ball, and Warren as quarterback was killing them. No one could stay on Tanu effectively, so Seth once ran the entire length of the yard attached to the large Samoan's leg. They still got the touch down.

After several near death experiences at the hands of Warren, Tanu, and their inability to look where they're going, Kendra and her team had gotten the ball back, but were losing by 40 questionable points.

"One thousand! Negative six! Left shoelace!" Bracken was breathless from laughing and running, at this point, as was everyone else. As he hiked to Seth, the younger boy missed the ball due to his own giggling fit. Bracken had been trying to grasp the concept of the numbers, but was unsuccessful. He had been calling out random digits and objects for about 20 minutes.

"What is wrong with you two?" Kendra tried to yell, but she was starting to laugh to hard. Seth only doubled over further at this question.

"Give us the ball, you missed!" Warren called, looking on bemusedly at the two boys. He struggled to contain his own laughter. Kendra tried, but fumbled when Seth howled like a hyena behind her. "Oh my god, you three are ridiculous."

"No way! Kendra, keep the ball!" Elise pulled Kendra away from her older cousin. "Y'all are leading by 40 points, many of which you got by cheating. Let us keep the ball."

"Uh-uh, sister," Warren planted his hands on his hips sassily. Dale barked out a laugh from his spot on the porch. "You fumbled. Our ball."

"Hell no, bite me!"

"My job!" Vanessa called from a few yards back.

"Listen, punk-" Warren was clearly ready to fight to his dying day for the ball, but Mara interrupted.

"Elise, the rules are the rules." she spoke softly, per usual, but plied the other girl with his eyes. "If you wanted to keep it, you should've caught it."

"What! But-" Elise gestured frantically between herself and the two boys on the ground, still cackling away. Mara's lips were twitching, Kendra assumed she was fighting off a wider smile. Elise finally caved as the Hopi woman quirked brow and stuck out her arm. "Fine. Here."

"Thank you." Mara primly turned and walked back to Vanessa and Tanu, who were discussing strategy. Warren made to follow, but turned and grinned smugly at Elise, making a whip sound and motion toward her. The younger girl flushed, and kicked at Warren's shin. He danced out of the way, laughing at her ire.

"He's like a five year old." Elise huffed. Kendra nodded understandingly.

"Where do you think Seth gets it from?"

The game continued on further for at least another 45 minutes, but they all paused when Grandma came to the door to call everyone inside.

"If you all want to eat, you have to set the table. It's just manners."

They all trooped inside, feeling pleasantly exhausted and ravenous. They dumped their jackets and boots and scarves in the front hall, one by one making their way toward the kitchen. The house was soon filled with the clinking of glass, china, and silverware. The oven door and refrigerator door continually opened and shut, and the traditional scent of turkey, potatoes, and stuffing wafted through the house. Kendra picked up the more subtle scents of different dishes, new dishes, as she moved toward the kitchen. It smelled nothing like the Thanksgiving meals she had had in the past, but in the best way possible.

Just before she rounded the corner to the kitchen, a hand slipped into hers and pulled her back. She collided with something soft and warm, but firm. A torso.

"Hey, princess." Bracken murmured in her ear, spinning her elegantly to face him.

"Hiya," Kendra smiled back. "Need something?"

"Nope," he smiled, dimples deepening unevenly. "Just you."

"Aw, you're sweet," Kendra rested her hands on his chest and reached on tiptoes to peck his lips. "But we have table to set if we want to eat."

"Ah, physical labor. The mark of any true festive gathering, naturally."

Kendra laughed lightly and turned to resume her route toward the kitchen, slipping her hand into the unicorn's. They joined the frenzy of carrying food and tableware to the dining room, which had been beautifully accented with golden, red, burnt orange leaves at some point. Trask and Tanu were setting the places, with Elise trailing behind and artfully folding napkins. Grandpa was taking a set of carving knives out of a box, and Grandma told him to mind his fingers as they all came in with food.

"Woo!" Seth cheered as he plopped into a chair next to Warren. "Good bread, good meat, good God let's eat? Yeah?"

"Seth Michael Sorenson," Grandma looked at him disapprovingly as she sat down. "We pray over exactly one meal together every year, and it is this one. Be patient and holy for once, young man."

"Yes, Grandma." Seth sighed, but allowed Warren to grab his hand anyway. Kendra placed hers in Bracken's and Tanu's, and let her eyes drift shut as her grandparents led the traditional mealtime prayer. They all voiced an "Amen" at the end, though Seth said his as he lunged for the stuffing. Not even Grandma could curb her laughter.

"Easy does it, Seth." Grandpa chuckled, standing to carve the Turkey.

"Yeah, dude, save the rest of us some." Warren elbowed Seth jokingly as he tried to pry the bowl of stuffing from the younger boy.

"Should've been faster old man." Seth stuck his tongue out.

"If he's old, I'm dead." Grandpa muttered, and Kendra laughed loudly.

The talking died down momentarily, everyone plating food or eating happily. Soon enough, the silence was broken by Seth, who spoke around a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"So," he chewed out. "What's everyone's favorite Thanksgiving memory. We've got a pretty diverse cast here, so I'm sure the answers are interesting."

"What a kind way to put it, dork." Kendra said, quirking a brow at her immature little brother. Sure, he was growing up, but he was still Seth.

"Well, mine was the first I spent with your grandparents," Warren responded to his cousin. Dale nodded in agreement from the Grandpa's elbow. "It was the first real time I celebrated the holiday, and, man, I had never seen so much food. Pretty sure I died from gluttony and this is my ring of hell now." He punctuated his statement by ruffling Seth's hair.

"Cute, very cute," Seth grumbled, fixing his dark hair. "What about you, Vanessa?"

"Hm. That's tough," Vanessa seemed to dwell on the question for a brief moment before shrugging. "Probably the year my oldest brother came home from college his freshman year. We were close, then, and I'd missed him. Or my first year back from bootcamp."

"You have a brother?" Elise interrupted.

"Several." Vanessa replied curtly, and went back to eating. No one inquired about it past that.

"Well, my best Thanksgiving," Tanu piped up next. "Was when I was 16. I don't know how, but all the Dufus made it out to our place that year. The house was packed! I slept on the floor of my room for a few days, but it was so awesome having everyone around."

"How many people total?" Kendra asked.

"Ah man, must've been close to thirty by the time the actual dinner rolled around."

"Thirty people?" Warren's eyes bugged out. "How big was your house, dude?"

"Bigger than I liked, for sure." Tanu laughed. "Came in handy that year, though."

"I'd kill for a family that big," Elise sighed. "I was an only child. Nice in theory, sucky in practice."

"What did you do for Thanksgiving?" Mara inquired quietly.

"Went to my aunt's house. Lots of cousins, but all either way older or way younger than me. It was nice, I liked it. Christmas was more my jam though."

"Same." Trask chuckled. "Thanksgiving for me was a more understated thing. Dinner at my uncle's mansion so he could flaunt his success at us, dressing up uncomfortably. Not my favorite. My favorite Thanksgiving is probably this one, so thanks for the invite."

"I'll drink to that." Warren raised his glass at Trask, who laughed and returned the gesture.

"What about you, Mara?" Elise looked to the girl seated next to her, who froze and then shifted uncomfortable.

"Um, out on the preserve, we didn't celebrate this holiday much." Mara said, dropping her gaze to her plate. Everyone glanced at her curiously, before realization washed over the table little by little.

"Jeez, Mara, I'm sorry, I didn't think-" Elise hurried to cover her faux-pas.

"No, it's ok, really." Mara rushed to comfort her and the table. "It wasn't me, so much, mostly my mother. She remembered her great grandmother, who walked the trail as a child, and it made her kind of hate the holiday. I was apathetic, really, but-"

"Mara," Grandma cut in softly. "I hope you understand that that isn't what we celebrate, or what anyone really celebrates anymore."

"Huh?" Mara looked confused, and turned to Elise for clarification.

"I don't know about other families," she started. "But all the ones I know see it as a day to get together with people we don't really get to see, and catch up."

"I've always seen at as a 'Yay I made it through the year' kind of day myself." Warren offered grinningly, clinking glasses with Vanessa, who muttered a colorful agreement.

"We come together to celebrate that we can come together and celebrate," Trask intoned. He locked eyes with his Hopi friend. "I highly doubt we are dining together over the attempted eradication or containment of a certain group. Not with our friends."

"Maybe this holiday doesn't have the best roots," Seth, of all people spoke up. "But we don't praise those routes when we're here. To be honest, I don't think about them at all."

"We're here together because we survived a crazy ordeal," Kendra said. "And we survived because of each other. This holiday is for everyone, and is open to interpretation, in my opinion. I'm not sitting here because we stole land and rights, I'm sitting here because it's a chance to be with people I love."

"That's kinda the point, these days, I think," Elise said brightly, grabbing Mara's hand. "To celebrate love and family."

Mara looked away, blushing slightly, and blinking wet eyes. "Then I am honored and happy to be here, with friends and loved ones."

"Best thanksgiving then?" Seth plied, looking at Mara expectantly.

"Yes, Seth," she chuckled. "Best thanksgiving."

"Alright!" Seth did a small fist pump. "Kendra, you're next. I'd ask Bracken but I don't think he's done this before."

Kendra looked over at her unicorn boyfriend, who was on his fourth serving of mashed potatoes. He shrugged, as if to say 'guilty-as-charged', and continued eating.

"I guess," Kendra pondered for only a moment, as her answer was clear in her mind. "My favorite Thanksgiving is this one."

"What? Seriously?" Seth looked shocked. "What about the one where we ditched tradition and went to Disney World?"

"Ok, sure, that was fun," Kendra rolled her eyes. "But it wasn't really _Thanksgiving_ , was it? It was Mom and Dad's cop out to hosting that year because it was their turn in the rotation."

"I knew it!" Grandma called from down the table. Kendra laughed.

"Well, that's fair then," Seth shrugged. "Disneygiving is my favorite though. I rode Space Mountain nine times."

"And hurled." Kendra muttered.

"Worth it." Seth affirmed, and took a chomp out of his turkey leg decisively. Kendra rolled her eyes again, and let her thoughts wander as everyone started talking amongst themselves. To be honest, she had never been able to fully enjoy any Thanksgiving before this one. Between keeping the preserve going and a constant battle with an eating disorder, the holiday had been dreaded more than anticipated. She shook herself out of her reverie when Bracken nudged her. She turned to look at him, and saw his eyes were soft but concerned.

"Poison?" he murmured.

"No, nothing like that," Kendra patted his hand, which had come to rest on her arm. "I'm fine, Bracken, really."

"Hey! Wait!" Seth loudly interrupted the table again, but was looking at his grandparents. "You two never shared your favorite Thankgivings."

"Oh," Grandpa said. "Easy. The one where the Colts beat the Ravens."

"Like hell that happened." Dale said, looking personally offended.

"You weren't even 5, don't get annoyed." Grandpa soothed, but retained a smug look.

"Easy for me, too," Grandma said, smiling conspiratorially at her husband before glancing at Seth and Kendra in turn. "In fact, you two were there."

"We were?" They said together, sounding equally shocked.

"Yep. Although, Seth couldn't have been more than 1, and Kendra about 4."

"Why was it your favorite, Grandma?" Kendra asked.

"It was the day Seth said his first word." Grandpa smiled.

"What!" Seth shouted. "No way! That's so cool!"

"What was it?" Warren asked. The rest of the table looked equally curious.

"'Kenna'." Grandma said after a moment's pause. The table dissolved into 'aw's' and surprised laughter.

"I was his first word?" Kendra was shocked.

"Yes, indeed," Grandpa picked his teeth with a steak knife. "He couldn't reach his toy parachute man, which had landed down some stairs and past a baby gate, and was trying to get you to get it."

"Did she?" Seth looked suspicious.

"No," Grandma snorted. "She told you in no uncertain terms that you weren't supposed to be playing with it, and walked away." The table erupted in laughter at younger Kendra's attitude.

"Sounds about right." Kendra smiled at her younger brother, who rolled his eyes but smiled back.

"Wow, Ken, you were a stickler for the rules at birth, weren't you?"

"I arrived on my due date and everything." Kendra jokingly preened. Seth laughed, swapping a fist bump with her, before going back his mashed potato volcano. Side conversations picked back up, and soon the room was filled with multiple voices and shouts of laughter. English mingled with Spanish and French, as Vanessa and Trask went back and forth about the merits of both. Warren turned to teach Seth how to construct a better food volcano. Tanu and Grandma began plotting next year's meal, making designs on how to improve their spice combinations. Dale and Grandpa were attempting to sneak their phones out to check a score. Elise and Mara were whispering to each other, hands entwined and blushes lightly dusting their cheeks. Bracken looked a bit lost, out of mashed potatoes to eat and conversations to join, so Kendra turned to face him.

"Have you ever played the chopsticks game?"

"No," Bracken furrowed his brow. "What's that?"

"Here, give me your hands, I'll teach you."

And so the night moved on, Kendra and Bracken eventually abandoning the game when it was time to clear the plates. Bracken refused to admit he hadn't won once, claiming he let her win multiple times. She rolled her eyes, agreeing sarcastically, as they dropped their dishes into the double sink for Warren and Dale to wash. Mara and Elise were drying, and those who had cooked earlier moved into the living room to digest before dessert. The fire was roaring, and the large TV Grandpa had finally purchased was set into the stone above the hearth. Kendra sat down in her favorite chair, pulling the crocheted blanket off the back and sinking into the overly stuffed piece of furniture. A moment later, Bracken padded into the room and sank down to the floor in front of the fire. It was no secret that the prince loathed the cold, and would go to ridiculous means to stay warm.

"Cold, your majesty?" Vanessa quipped from her seat at the end of the couch. Her legs were in Tanu's lap, the two having developed an odd friendship over the year.

"Very, thank you." Bracken mumbled from where his face was pushed into the carpet. Vanessa sighed, reached behind her, and pulled out one of the softer throw pillows the couch had. She tossed it somewhat gently to the unicorn sprawled on the floor, who accepted it with bemused confusion. "Thanks, um, Vanessa."

"'Tis the season, and all that." she mumbled, settling deeper into the couch. Tanu, Kendra, and everyone else pretended not to notice the bonding moment between the rivals, but silently released the breaths they'd all been holding.

A few peaceful moments later, the cleanup crew meandered into the living room, joining the sprawl in front of the hearth and TV. Dale took up his usual spot in the cracked and overstuffed leather armchair across the room. Warren plopped in front of Vanessa and put his head in her lap. Elise and Mara took the last remaining chair, Elise tossing her legs across Mara's lap to make sharing the single seat easier.

"I'm beat." Warren groaned as he stretched, long limbs nearly knocking over Vanessa's coffee mug resting on the arm of the couch. The rest of the room tiredly murmured agreement, but before the silence could settle, Warren continued talking. "So, Kendra…"

"Yes, Warren?" Kendra was hesitant to respond. Warren's voice sounded like it usually did when he caught Seth doing something Stan would hate and he would love.

"If you don't mind me asking," Warren began in a tone that implied he didn't care if she minded what he was asking. "What made you implode on Favre like that the other day? Besides the poison in your noggin, of course."

"Warren!" Vanessa tugged on his hair to try and get him to drop it, and Bracken was eyeing him suspiciously. The atmosphere was leaning toward tense, once again.

"Um, well, it was nothing really," Kendra muttered, playing with the threads on her fuzzy socks. "Just boy stuff, teenage drama, all that. Nothing interesting."

"I find that stuff plenty interesting." Warren smirked.

"That's because you have the mental capacity of a fifteen year old," Kendra shot back, trying to deflect. Warren's only response was to begin giggling. Kendra felt cold dread pool in her stomach. "You know, don't you?"

Warren's light giggled had deepened to howling laughter in a matter of seconds, confirming her fears. Kendra felt torn between joining him and kicking him while he was on level with her foot. She decided to wait him out, but as he calmed down, she realized this was a poor choice.

"So, get this everyone-" Warren raised his voice to address the room. Kendra noticed her grandparents share an alarmed but amused look and leave the room, presumably to get dessert ready.

"Warren, don't you dare." Kendra warned, rising out of her seat a little.

"Many students believe-"

"Warren, I swear to God, I will maim you-"

"That Kendra and I-"

"Warren, _shut up_!"

"Are sleeping together." The words were barely out of his mouth before Kendra tackled him. As they were engrossed in their wrestling/tickling match, the rest of the room was reacting with mixed amusement and revulsion.

"That's hilarious!"

"That's disgusting!"

"He's her teacher."

"He's her _cousin_."

"Oh my god, that's so nasty. I want to die."

"Teenagers suck."

By the time Kendra and Warren had given up trying to get the other in a headlock, the room was filled with laughter and gagging noises. Kendra felt her mortification slide off her as she joined in, but made sure to drive a hard one into Warren's arm before settling next to Bracken. The young prince was chuckling especially hard, as was the resident blix.

"Well, Kendra," Warren was wiping tears from his eyes. "It just goes to show you have to stop flirting with me in class."

"I'll show you 'flirting', you yankee doodle dandy asshole."

"There's a new one." Seth muttered.

"Maybe if you two remembered the mission more-," Bracken began.

"And acted more professional-" Vanessa added.

"This wouldn't happen."

"In theory, that's flawless." Warren was smirking cruelly again, this time at his girlfriend.

"However," Kendra picked up the smirk at turned to Bracken. "It seems to negate the predicament you two are in."

"What?" Bracken and Vanessa looked properly confused and wary.

"The student body seems to think the two of you have a bit of an extra credit system going on as well." Warren sing-songed.

For a brief moment, the room was so silent that the log crumbling in the fireplace sounded like an avalanche. Then, the yelling started.

" _What?_ " Vanessa's voice shrieked. Bracken was just yelling wordlessly for the time being. "How on _earth_ did those little _gremlins_ come up with that?"

"All she does in class is berate me!" Bracken jumped up, looking fairly pale. Warren was once again howling with laughter. "And tell me why my answers are wrong! Or ignore me!"

"He's _practically failing my class!_ "

" _What?_ "

"Nothing." The room was once again filled with laughter. Tanu looked like he was struggling to breathe, and Trask had removed his glasses to rub at tearing eyes. Mara and Elise were gripping each other in hysterics, giggling without pause. Kendra found her own laughter bubbling up, the room's atmosphere contagious. After a few moments, Vanessa and Bracken's revulsion and ire had simmered down, leaving them chuckling ruefully along with the others.

"This school is so messed up." Seth groaned from where he'd pushed his face into the couch. Kendra and Bracken voiced their agreements heatedly, spurring on more giggles.

"Come get dessert, guys!" Ruth's voice came from the dining room. The next few minutes were a mad scramble as everyone got up and shuffled toward the dining room. Or, in Seth and Warren's case, trucked unsuspecting friends out of their way in a mad dash for pumpkin pie. Soon they were all seated around the table once again, this time with platters of desserts adorning the table, and delicious coffee to chase it with.

"So then, just as I was turning to remind the minotaur why-" Stan was in the middle of one his stories of his younger adventuring days when he was interrupted by the shrill ringing of the house phone. Several members of the group actually flinched, or reached for weaponry. Kendra and Seth frowned, looking at each other. They'd never heard the house phone ring before. She just caught her grandparents exchanged alarmed looks before Grandpa rose to answer.

"Ruth, do you even have a phone bill?" Warren questioned around a mouthful of apple pie.

"You could say it's off the grid." She murmured evasively, taking a sip of coffee before turning to question Tanu about said drink's origin. As the table returned to light conversation, Stan came back in, looking years older than he had when he left.

"Stan?" Trask straightened up. "Everything ok?"

"It can wait till tomorrow." was all he said before sitting back down in his chair. The table shifted uneasily, the silence remaining for a few minutes longer, before the talking resumed. Even as everyone laughed at Warren's impression of a Scottish fairy trapper he had once met, the tense atmosphere lingered, and followed them all to bed that night.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed the fluff. And, lastly, the dirty business. To the reviewer who lasted dropped a rather rude and assumptive comment, kindly keep such statements to yourself. Both feministkendra and I have a very clear notion of where this story is going, and the whole point of this is to not tell you. There are no ruts. If you feel the story is moving too slow, or not how you want, then by all means don't read it. We write fanfiction for our own enjoyment and the enjoyment of others if they choose to read it. If you have any ideas, go write your own story. We hope you continue to enjoy ours.**


	10. Start Decking Those Halls

**Hello! So most of this chapter is filler, and prep for the next chapter. Toward the end, this chapter is a VERY HEAVY T RATING. You've been warned. Enjoy and thanks for reading!**

* * *

Stan set the handheld phone back in its cradle as he pressed the red END CALL button. He dropped his head into his hands, massaging his temples as he rested his elbows on his desk. The news he had just received was becoming alarmingly commonplace, matching the call he got on Thanksgiving almost exactly. It had been three weeks since then, and each Sunday like clockwork he received more intel about the dark poison virus, and its rapid expansion. People were being infected in droves now, some more harshly than others, and no cure or overall solution had presented itself as of yet. To say the least, Stan was stressed.

But, he thought, he could not let that affect his ability to lead. He straightened up, stretched his old bones, and picked up the telecom microphone. He was one minute and four seconds overdue to address the student body as he did every morning, and that simply would not do. The students had to feel safe, be reassured, and he would do his best to play his part.

He could only hope the rest of the faculty was following suit.

* * *

"So then, Sherman got on his nightmare horse with his giant bags of salt and blazing torches, and rode through the south, destroying plantations left and right. That man was insane, but brilliant, they said. Killed thousands, saved more, they said. What do _you_ say, kidlets?"

The class was stock still, Kendra noted, most shocked into silence by the horrifyingly detailed history lesson Warren had just delivered about General Sherman and his war efforts. Some kids looked visibly ill.

"Why did they use a madman?" one boy asked from the back.

"Why did we drop the bomb?" Warren responded, letting the question sink in.

"Why did he pour salt on the soil?" Brittany asked, nose freshly attached to her plastic-y face.

"That's a science question. Pause, rewind, kill it with fire, and drag it out of this classroom."

"What did people have to say about it?" another girl asked from the front.

"Funny you should ask that, Elle," Warren answered in a tone that implied his students would find no humor in what was to follow. "Because that is exactly what your homework assignment is going to be on!"

The resounding groan was impressive, and Warren closed his eyes and pretended to bask in the sound as if it were applause.

"I love the sound of down trodden adolescents in the morning."

"Mr. Burgess, why?" Brett, one of the kinder jocks, whined good naturedly.

"Because this is your last assignment before whatever winter holiday you all celebrate, and it won't be that hard. Three pages, double spaced, one peer reviewed source minimum. It's baby work, guys, and nothing compared to what most of you will see in college."

The class' grumbling died down a bit, and Kendra felt herself relax. She could finish the assignment in one night, two hours at most. This, and two lab reports, were all that stood between her and a week of sleeping in. As she smiled at this wonderful thought, the bell rang sharply, beckoning her harshly to the labs down the hall. When she walked in, though, taking her seat in front of Bracken, she saw both Tanu and Vanessa at the front of the room, conversing quietly, both in lab coats.

"Bracken," Kendra leaned back in a stretch, placing her head next to her boyfriend's furiously scribbling hand. He was attempting to finish the homework being collected in four minutes, and merely grunted in vague acknowledgement. "Why is Tanu here?"

"Joint lab. Gonna fail. 'Scuse me." He muttered, picking up his place in the notebook dangerously close to her face. Kendra rapidly straightened to avoid being written on, feel her back protest at the sudden movement. She groaned, and began pulling her own assignments and lab notebook out of her messenger bag. The bell rang once again as she finished, and she heard Bracken sigh hastily in relief behind her. He passed his assignment up with the rest of their rows' and Kendra placed it on the table at the front.

"Good morning, class. Seeing as our winter break is rapidly approaching, and I don't want to grade any more actual papers, your last assignment will be, hopefully, an enjoyable one. We will be doing a joint Biochem lab for the remainder of this week, and the next will be spent doing your lab reports in class."

"No homework?" Bracken raised his voice hopefully above the class' murmurs, raising a few laughs.

"Correct, Adrian. No homework."

Several members of the class whooped and cheered, Bracken among them. Kendra felt her own grin widening, and just caught Tanu's subtle thumbs up from the front.

"Now, the lab will be weighted a bit differently from your others, as it is intended to be a grade booster. None of you should fail this, and if you do, no exceptions will be made. I am giving you plenty of time to work on this in class, time that you can use to work with peers or ask me questions."

"Ma'am?" one of the more timid students in the back raised her hand, and Vanessa fixed her with her usual stare to encourage her to continue. "What about the students who are absent? Who are sick?"

Kendra noticed both Vanessa and Tanu grimace, and heard Bracken's sharp inhale behind her. Since Thanksgiving, more and more students had been out of class, most because of the poison plague. She knew her grandfather had been getting calls weekly with updated numbers, and it wasn't looking good. No cases were fatal yet, but they all knew it wouldn't stay that way for long.

"Special exceptions will be made for cases that are just that, special."

The class nodded in understanding, and Vanessa pressed on.

"Mr. Dufu here will be helping us with this lab, and you can direct any chemistry based questions to him. Each pair of lab partners will have a different lab, no trading. Your assignments are at your lab tables. You may begin."

Bracken and Kendra rose from their seats, making their way leisurely over to their corner lab table. As they approached, she noticed a yellow sticky note on theirs that wasn't on anyone else's lab assignments.

"Bracken, Kendra," the note read. "No one else can see this note. Things are getting bad. We can't tell you much more, but it's time to start preparing."

The couple swapped a look, subtle enough to look like all the others' confused expressions at their lab assignments. Kendra peeled off the note, folding it carefully and shoving it into her pocket. The packet of papers beneath read, in large bold letters:

 **How To Make a Lethal Sleeping Draft from Tasmanian Lizard Venom**

"Biochem my ass." Bracken muttered, though Kendra could feel his magical energy thrumming to life with excitement. She was sure they were both glowing brighter than before. Kendra looked up, making direct eye contact with Tanu and Vanessa, who had yet to leave the front lab table. She nodded, imperceptibly, and they nodded back in kind. Once again, Kendra had felt she was waking from some wonderful dream, to a reality that hid danger around every corner.

* * *

"I miss the FBI." Trask muttered to himself as he set aside the last end of term project left on his grading pile. He shut his eyes and scrubbed a hand across his bearded chin. Being a teacher was mentally and emotionally draining, in ways that being an agent for 10 years would never have prepared him for. Criminals, guns, paperwork...that was his forte.

Trask sighed again, stretched, and decided to take an early lunch. The crew would probably be there by now, and he needed some good company. He stood, grabbed his bag, shut off his laptop, and crossed the room to leave. He locked his door (one could never be too prepared with Seth and his goonish friends lurking around every corner), and set off toward the lunch room. He was passing by the entrance to kitchens when trouble finally found him, as it so often did. Romeo Martinez was walking carefully out of the kitchens, looking behind him and to his left intently. He clearly was not looking to be seen.

"Hi there Mr. Martinez." Trask let his voice boom down the empty hallway. The slighter man jumped violently, and gripped his chest harshly.

"H-Hello, Mr. Morgan." Romeo stuttered.

"Oh, c'mon now, man," Trask chuckled as he drew even with the spanish teacher. "I've told you, call me Trask."

"Trask, yeah, sure." Romeo nodded vigorously, obviously uncomfortable.

"So, uh, Romeo," Trask squared his shoulders, and let his voice drop to a more serious timbre. "What were you doing in the kitchens? Everything ok?"

"Wha-? Oh, no, yeah everything is great, just taking a shortcut." he stammered out.

"Through...the kitchens?" Trask let a bit of his disbelief seep into his tone, throwing in one raised eyebrow.

"Yep! Super fast, speedy as hell," Romeo jerkily checked his watch and began to go. "Anyway, gotta prep for the next class. Have a good one, bye!" The man all but flew down the hall and around the corner.

Multiple alarm bells were ringing in Trask's head. He had no evidence that Romeo had been doing anything but what he claimed, but a curious feeling was still curling its way through his mind. He forced to himself to keep walking, to go to the lunch table. Sure enough, Warren, Vanessa, Elise, Mara, and Tanu were all gathered around their usual table, enjoying their lunches. He was about to carry on normally, but he suddenly noticed the tray of lunch made food in front of Elise. He looked at her questioningly as he sat down.

"I forgot my lunch this morning. I was running late again." Elise shrugged, somewhat apologetic. Trask frowned deeply, and before anyone could really comprehend what was going on, he snatched the tray out from under Elise's poised fork, crossed to the trashcan, and dumped it tray and all. As he gave the artist half of his own lunch to pacify her, he noticed the curious feeling in his brain had become full-blown apprehension, and he grimaced.

* * *

"Alright, Warren. Truth or dare?"

It was Saturday night, and Kendra, Bracken, Warren, and Vanessa were sprawled across the fluffy area rug on the floor of Warren's cabin. There was a fire going in the newly-built stone fireplace, a bowl of popcorn and m&ms on the floor in front of them, and the worst Christmas music Warren could find playing softly over Vanessa's impressive sound system.

"Oh, god," Warren sighed at Bracken's deviously smirking face. "Truth, I guess."

"Hmph," Bracken looked briefly put out as he contemplated his question. "How personal can these be?"

"We're all adults here," Vanessa shrugged, tossing an m&m in her mouth. "Adults who work closely together in life-threatening situations. I'd say there are no boundaries."

"Safe word is giraffe." Kendra affirmed, taking a huge handful of buttery popcorn, dropping quite a few pieces onto the carpet and fuzzy pajama pants.

"Speaking of safe words," Bracken's head suddenly snapped up, and he smiled devilishly at Warren. "Warren, have any oddly specific tendencies with women?"

The room was silent for a beat, and Warren's snack filled hand paused halfway to his mouth.

"Did you just ask me if I have any kinks?"

"Yes."

"Oh man," Warren let his head drop with a sigh. "Um, kind of? Yes?"

"What?" Bracken looked like he hadn't been expecting an affirmative response. "Seriously?"

"You'll understand when you're older." Vanessa smirked at the ageless unicorn, who glared in response and sat back with a huff.

"Kendra," Warren resumed. His younger cousin looked distinctly uncomfortable with any further discussion of her older cousin's bedroom life. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare. Please. No questions."

"Alright, Kens," Warren rubbed his stubbled chin contemplatively. "I dare you to answer this next question honestly."

"That's cheating!" she protested, then sighed. There was really no way out of it. "Alright, go."

"Which of us is your favorite teacher?" Warren asked far too aloofly. She saw Vanessa focus on the question as well, straightening up somewhat.

"Tanu," Kendra said, then laughed as her two older friends scowled at her. "He assigns reasonable amounts of homework and gets stuff done in class. Plus, I'm really good at chemistry."

"Fair enough." Warren sighed melodramatically.

"Vanessa," Kendra chirped, and the older woman lazily opened an eye. She looked close to falling asleep in the warm house, something Kendra wanted to prevent. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." she mumbled, pressing her face further into the carpet.

"Hm…" Kendra pretended to contemplate. "I dare you to prank call an ex."

Both of Vanessa's eyes flew open, she was clearly wide awake. "What."

"You heard me. An ex. The Sphinx! Prank call that asshole."

"Kendra, maybe we shouldn't-" Bracken tried to interrupt, but Vanessa was already dialing in the number. "Or we could." The prince sighed.

"Here we go." Vanessa muttered, clearing her throat softly. The phone was ringing, and the group huddled around the device almost reverently, waiting and praying for him to pick up. Suddenly, the ringing stopped, and the connection crackled to life.

"Hello?" a smooth voice cut harshly through the tinny speaker. The group froze, and all was quiet aside from the crackling fire.

"Hello, is this Mr. Ra-ho-deez?" Vanessa had donned a seamless valley girl accent, with just enough loftiness to make the tone seem vaguely unconcerned with whether this was the right number or not.

"How did you get this number? Who is this?"

"I'm with the National Survey Council, I just need to ask you a few questions."

"How did you get this number?" The Sphinx asked again, harsher. Vanessa had to take a moment to compose herself before answering.

"We pull numbers from various stores and locations visited frequently by customers. This one came from a Disney Store, a Hot Topic, and Spencers."

"Excuse me?" The Sphinx now sounded completely flustered, and Kendra had to lean away so her laughter wouldn't be picked up.

"Sir, we just need to ask you two questions."

"Fine, fine, whatever."

"Have you recently received any maintenance assistance for any appliances in your kitchen, office, or recreation areas?"

"No."

"Is your cable service operating?"

"I don't have cable."

"Basic." Warren muttered, and Vanessa once again took a moment to regain her composure. Bracken had joined Kendra in the designated laughing zone.

"Is your laptop or PC operating optimally?"

"Yes."

"Is your refrigerator operating up to code standards, as well as personal preference and optimal food cooling and saving levels?"

"I'm sorry, what?" The Sphinx was angry at this point, and impatient.

"Is your refrigerator running, sir?" Vanessa had adopted a tone of bored judgement, one that brooked no room for jokes.

"Yes, my refrigerator is running."

"Then you had better go catch it, Mr. Ra-ho-deez."

Vanessa waited a beat for the joke to sink in, then hung up. She finally succumbed to the giggles she had been fighting the whole time, and fell into Warren, who had also moved away from the phone to laugh. It took them all a few minutes to recover, and when they were once again sitting in a circle, everyone was wiping their eyes or still giggling.

"That felt great." Vanessa chuckled, and swapped a high five with Kendra. "Alright, Bracken. Your turn, truth or dare."

"Truth." He shrugged.

"Alright, I'm asking because I'm curious and we are all friends here," Vanessa leaned forward, making eye contact with both Kendra and Bracken. "How far have you two gone?"

Kendra felt a blush creeping up her neck, and looked at Bracken to see him staring intently at the floor, biting the inside of his cheek. It was silent for a while, before Bracken finally sighed and looked up at Vanessa and Warren (who was also watching them intently now).

"You know she stays in my room most nights, right?" was all he offered as an answer. It was enough though, and Vanessa cheered. She whipped around to glance triumphantly at Warren, who had buried his face in a pillow and groaned.

"That means you owe me forty bucks and a nice date, Burgess."

"Thanks, guys, really." Warren glared at them, leaning back to grab his wallet off the couch. He opened it and counted out a few bills, thrusting them sulkily at Vanessa. Bracken and Kendra were still in shock.

"You," Kendra looked between them, before her curious glance hardened into a glare. "You made a bet?"

"A lucrative one." Vanessa muttered from behind counting her cash.

"You guys are the worst!" Kendra groaned before flopping backwards into the rug. Bracken just looked relieved that Warren hadn't decided to be a protective older cousin in this particular situation.

"So we've been told," Warren yawned.. He also leaned back, resting against the front of couch. "Bracken, what's my dare."

"Clean up this mess on the floor so we can all go to bed."

"Best one yet." Warren stood and stretched, several bones cracking and popping into place as he did, making everyone wince. He picked up the empty bowl of popcorn, gathered their discarded hot cocoa mugs as he did. He padded into the kitchen, and he moved around, putting things away and rinsing dishes, the other three occupants of the house dozed lazily by the fire. Kendra was the only one still awake when Warren finally returned, shutting off the kitchen light as he did. He crossed to the front room's windows, and glanced out.

"It's started snowing, Kens. Why don't you and Bracken just take the guest room tonight? We can all head over for bad-news pancakes tomorrow."

"Sound's good. Thanks, Warren."

"Yeah, sure." He smiled, then moved to prod Vanessa with his bare toe. "Nessa, wake up. It's time for sleep."

"Wha-? No." She whined, rolling over toward the fire. Warren sighed, and crouched down, getting ready to just pick the tired blix up. Before he did though, he leaned over toward Kendra and kissed her briefly on the forehead. He drew back, and ruffled her hair.

"You know," Kendra huffed, smilingly. "That gives me horrible bedhead."

"Exactly, kiddo," Warren winked at her, looped his arms under Vanessa, and rose to his feet. "Goodnight Kendra, and Bracken if you are awake. Good dreams and all that." Vanessa mumbled something as well, and raised an arm vaguely in goodnight. The older couple disappeared up the stairs to the loft bedroom, and after a few moments of shuffling and soft voices, the house was silent.

Kendra let her eyes close for a minute, enjoying the feeling of the dying fire at her back, the plush comfort of the carpet, and the sound of the winter winds whipping up a snowstorm outside. The darkness, which had been pressing on her mind more and more with the end of the semester and all the stress it entailed, receded to the back of her mind throughout the warm and happy nigh spent in Warren's cabin, and she felt million pounds lighter as she lay there on the floor.

"Kendra?" Bracken's voice, heavy with sleep, came from above her, or laterally, to the left of her. She mumbled a gibberish response. "Are we heading back? Where is everyone? Did I fall asleep?"

"No, sleep here. Upstairs. Yes."

"Gotcha. Guest room?"

"Mmmmmhm." She heard him shift, and get slowly to his feet. A moment later, he was pushing at her shoulder, rolling her onto her back, and picking her up. Kendra was blearily aware that they were headed toward the guest room. Next thing she knew, Bracken was placing her gently on cold sheets, waking her up in the slightest and most unpleasant of ways. She grumbled, and shuffled lazily for a minute before wiggling under the heavy quilt comforter. Another few minutes later, she felt Bracken climb into bed next to her. She rolled over to curl herself around him, resting her hand above his beating heart.

"Have a good night, princess?" The unicorn mumbled as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders.

"Very good. I had so much fun." Kendra sighed happily. "Although, popcorn and m&ms is still a stupid combination."

"I'll fight you on that in the morning." Bracken yawned, and pushed a kiss gently against her too-tired-to-respond lips. "Sweet dreams, love."

"Goodnight, Bracken." Kendra yawned, adjusted her head against his chest, and fell into a heavy and dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Kendra found she could hardly sit still as she sat at the kitchen table in the main house, plate laden with pancakes. The morbid curiosity over her grandfather's bad news had played with her dreams all night; were there more infections? Had someone passed away? Were they being sent on another mission? Were she and Seth being left out of another mission? The questions rattled around Kendra's brain, distracting her so thoroughly that she didn't even notice Seth take one of her pancakes and steal a piece of bacon.

"Alright, if everyone's settled," Stan sat back in his chair at the head of the table. "Let's get down to the business at hand." The small talk and clattering of utensils stopped, and the air tensed palpably as they all waited for Grandpa to continue. "Despite my best efforts at staving it off, and despite the crises we are dealing with here-"

Grandpa shut his eyes tightly and massaged the bridge of his nose before continuing.

"The Winter Ball is still on for Christmas Eve."

Kendra deflated, her anxiety plummeting back into her mind for another day, only to be replaced by utter confusion. Looking at her brother and Bracken yielded no results, so she tried listening to the mixed responses the adults were giving.

"Uh, I object," Warren called loudly, looking incredibly annoyed. "I'm poisoned, and extremely ill-" he faked a hacking cough. "I think I should be excused from all Knight soirees for an indeterminable amount of time. Sick leave, Stan. It's my right."

"This isn't a union, Warren."

"Well we certainly could use one."

Kendra turned to Mara and Elise, the latter looking extremely excited, the former...not so much.

"Mara, isn't this awesome!"

"No."

"We get to dress up, and be actually fancy for once. No stuffy masks and cloaks-"

"It is a masquerade ball, 'Lise-"

"-we have to go shopping for dresses, and shoes, accessories, get our nails done, I have to touch up my hair, you could use a trim, dear-"

"Excuse me?"

"-I don't know any of the boutiques around here, do you? No of course you don't that makes no sense, Vanessa! Do you know any shops-"

Kendra tuned out after that, both Elise and Vanessa's rapid speech patterns making her head hurt. Glancing around, she noticed Trask looked as pleased as Warren did, while Tanu seemed content with the whole situation. He looked at her as her eyes wandered around the table, and she gave him a questioning look. He returned it, before realizing she was actually confused. He turned to Stan.

"Stan, I think you may have forgotten that we have a couple of new Knights."

Her grandfather looked away from Warren to her and Bracken, and after a moment realization dawned on him. "Oh dear, Kendra, I do apologize. It slipped my mind that you were not with us yet for the last Winter Ball."

"Yes, what's this about a ball?" Bracken looked cautiously excited as he asked.

"Just that," Stan chuckled. "Every year, the Knights of the Dawn gather around the holidays to have a party of sorts. There's typically no business discussed, and it is a great way to make connections and learn information for yourself."

"And it's super fancy?"

"The fanciest," Warren took over, sounded very downtrodden. "Nicest suits, ball gowns, whole nine yards. It's a masquerade too, so you'll have to look into well made masks to match, nothing cheap. Tinted eye pieces if you can manage."

"Think V for Vendetta." Elise said.

"Or Trask on a sunny day." Tanu supplied.

"Ha, that's funny, you're funny." Trask muttered.

"And make no mistake, Kendra, Bracken," Stan spoke again, his voice much more serious. "This is still a meeting of very powerful, potentially dangerous people. You would be foolish to go in unarmed."

"Weapons?" Kendra said, not liking the way her voice shook. "We have to be geared to fight? At a Christmas party?"

"Non-denominational holiday gathering of a social persuasion." Warren amended.

"Don't worry, _mija_." Vanessa spoke, and Kendra turned to face her. "I'll show you how to tuck a few knives into whatever dress you get."

Kendra nodded, grateful for the offer, but no less comfortable with the situation.

"I suggest you all take the remainder of the day to shop or prepare a trip to the nearby mall. The ball is friday, best of luck to you all."

* * *

"No, not there, you'll cut-"

"Ow!"

"-your thigh." Vanessa sighed, then reached to help Kendra reposition the knife holster yet again.

"Vanessa, we've been at this for an hour. Do I really need a holster on my thigh?" Kendra shut her eyes, and sat down on the trunk at the end of Vanessa's bed. Her headache was building, and several nasty thoughts were racing through her head. She needed to meditate badly, but was also determined to figure out these weapon holsters for her dress.

Finding a dress and accoutrements had proved to be a minor event for all the girls. They'd spent Sunday at the mall, and returned home more than victorious. Now, on Wednesday, Kendra was finding it was more difficult to attach knives to her than she thought.

"Since a lot of the older Knights are borderline perverts, and the younger ones are even worse, yes. It's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."

"Yeah, you're right," Kendra sighed, rubbing her temples. "I'm just…" She gestured aimlessly toward her pounding head with her free hand. The trunk shifted as Vanessa sat beside her and leaned back onto the bed.

"Yeah, I figured," Vanessa said, not unkindly. Thinly veiled sympathy and concern swam below the current of her words. "Is the meditation helping?"

"Yeah, I just need to do it more and more it feels, and it's getting harder and harder to avoid stress. I think I'm just becoming more sensitive to it."

"Oh, _mija_ ," Vanessa sighed, reaching up to run a manicured hand through Kendra's long hair. "I worry about you.

"Let's call it a night." the blix spoke again after a moment of silence, and Kendra thought there had never been kinder words spoken. She helped Vanessa clean up, then sat on the edge of the bed as the older woman tended to her creatures, pulling her boots and jacket on at the same time.

"Going somewhere?" Kendra sing-songed, smirking at her friend as she grabbed the keys for Warren's cabin off her desk.

"It's officially Christmas break, girl," Vanessa smirked back. "I'm going to celebrate."

"Sounds like a Merry Christmas, and to all, a good night." Kendra laughed as Vanessa stuck her tongue out, and followed her out of the bedroom. They split paths on the second stairwell, Vanessa heading for the porch door, Kendra for the shower in her own bedroom. The sun was practically set, and dinner wouldn't be for a while yet. Her grandparents were doing the more menial chores, like bills, and the rest of the gang was either out on the preserve, or not at the house. Now that she thought about it, Kendra realized dinner might not be happening tonight.

She pushed open the door to her room with a groan, making a mental note to text Vanessa and ask if she could take one of her cars into town for Panera. Before she could collapse onto her bed, Kendra noticed her bathroom light was on, though the door was shut, and she was pretty sure she could hear the shower running. She groaned again, more dramatically, and went to the door, almost certain she knew who the culprit was.

"Seth, if I've told you once, I've told at least one hundred times, if you like my scented soaps so much I'll get you some for Christmas. Stop breaking into my shower."

For a moment, the only sound in the bathroom was the running water hitting the tile of the shower. Then, a voice that was certainly not Seth's came from behind the curtain. '

"Kendra, dear, I'm not sure what you're talking about, but if that's what Seth's deal is, then I understand. This soap is amazing."

"Bracken?" Kendra was confused, once again. And her headache was starting, once again. "What are you doing in here? You have a shower."

"Yes, and Seth is currently in it."

"Why?"

"I haven't the foggiest. He yelled something about frozen swamp goo, and then slammed the door."

"Typical," Kendra muttered. "And you had to use my shower right now?"

"Yes. I'm cold."

Kendra muttered a few choice words, then moved into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She began removing her shoes and sweats, pulling her hair out of its high ponytail. Bracken poked his head out of the shower, looking at her bemusedly.

"That impatient?" he smirked.

"Oh please," Kendra rolled her eyes and tugged off a sock. "If I wait for you to finish, there won't be any hot water left."

"That's fair."

Kendra set about tossing her clothes into the hamper in the closet, and grabbing towels to dry herself and her hair with. She removed the last of her jewelry, then climbed under the furiously hot spray of water. She cursed as it scalded her skin, and moved to lower the temperature. Bracken made a noise behind her, then reached around her to change it back. They fought over the controls for a solid five minutes, if Kendra had to estimate. She finally relented once she was used to the temperature Bracken preferred, though she knew her skin would be pink as a rash afterwards.

She also had to admit defeat when she could no longer reach the controls, as she was stuck between Bracken and the far wall, his lips moving languidly against hers. Kendra's arms were locked firmly around his neck, mostly so she wouldn't lose her balance on the slippery floor.

"That's not very fair." She mumbled halfheartedly against his lips, throwing a glance over his shoulder at the controls to the shower, now a good four feet away.

"What's that saying about love and war?" He chuckled, warm breath ghosting over her lips.

"Shut up, horse." Bracken laughed more outwardly at that, and she felt the chuckle reverberate against his rib cage into her own.

The feeling of the cold wall she was pressed against contrasted perfectly with the warmth radiating off of Bracken and the shower behind him, and Kendra felt her headache begin to recede. The molten water continued to beat down on them, but neither paid it any mind. Kendra was more warmed by the hands roaming her figure than she ever would be by a shower.

By the time the water ran cold, her headache had dissolved completely.

They stumbled tiredly from the bathroom to her bedroom, now completely dark. Instead of reaching for the light switch, she crossed the room to the cage by her bed, and released the glowing moths Vanessa had given her for her 18th birthday. At long last, Kendra collapsed into bed, resolving to deal with the damp towels on the floor in the morning. A moment later, Bracken also collapsed onto the bed, not even a foot beside her, the bed creaking loudly.

"Why don't you just yell that we're having a moment?" Kendra snapped in a whisper as the old springs settled. "That'll probably be less loud than the cliche spring noises."

Bracken laughed and reached for her at the same time she made to turn over to face him; at some point in all their fumbling, their lips met and stayed connected. They remained that way for the better part of half an hour, kissing and caressing each other, enjoying each other's uninterrupted presence for the first time in a long time.

Outside, snow began to fall heavily and quietly, coating the house, the preserve, and the little cabin in the distance in a frigid blanket. Inside their homes, though, the inhabitants of Fablehaven remained warm, and, finally, at peace, even if just for the night.

* * *

 **Hope everyone has their dancing shoes ready! Drop a review, we both love to read them, and value all you guys have to say. Stay respectful, let us know how you liked the chap, and see you next time!**


	11. Merry Crisis

**WELL HELLO THERE. Major apologies for the actually year delay of this chapter. I really have no excuse other than getting a job, being a full time student, falling madly in love, and generally losing my mojo for Fablehaven for quite a while. I really would not have finished this without feministkendra, my co-author, muse, and friend. She really keeps this thing together, so go check out her fic Power of the Mind. Grade-A shit.**

 **Quick PSA; this story is T for a reason. There is cursing and suggestive themes. Neither will be toned down. If you don't like it, don't read it (a classic), but don't ask authors to alter their personal choices for your own comfort. The warning is there for a reason. Peace out home slices. Now, enjoy and have a happy holiday!**

* * *

"Are you sure this is going to look good?"

"Yes, Kendra."

"Ok, but are you certain? Like there's no way this could turn out bad?"

"If you don't stop twitching and talking, this fairytale ending is going to have a plot twist."

"Is curling my hair really necessary, Vanessa?"

"Hush, child. Let me work."

Kendra heaved a heavy sigh, the heaviest of sighs all night (and there had been many), but fell silent to let Vanessa finish curling her hair. She'd already sat through yet another knife holster placement lesson, and having her makeup done. The makeup along had taken close to an hour, and now the hair was closing in on thirty minutes. Kendra was agitated to say the least.

"Don't we have to go soon?"

"You really are a very impatient girl, has anyone ever mentioned that?"

"Vanessa, I'm serious."

"Relax, I just have one more piece, and then all that's left is to pin it up, and for you to get dressed."

"That's gonna be another nine hours." Kendra muttered, thinking of all the laces and adjusting she would have to deal with. She glanced back to examine Vanessa in the mirror, who had straightened her naturally wavy hair, pinned it up intricately, and added small jeweled accents to complete it. Kendra knew she had a similar image in mind for her own hair, and was honestly excited to see the outcome. Despite her anxiousness, she trusted Vanessa knew what she was doing.

Per usual, the blix's makeup was done perfectly, with even more of a dramatic flair than she typically wore. She had done Kendra's more softly at the younger girl's request, but not enough to leave her looking plain. Her eyeliner had subtle wings, the shadow on her eyelids was just dark enough to pop, and her lips were stained a deeper rose than usual. Kendra had felt like a fairy for years, but only now did she truly look the part.

"And...done!" Vanessa placed the curling iron down, smiling victoriously. She plucked a few pins and clips off of the vanity, and within mere seconds, had Kendra's hair done up flawlessly. Kendra moved her head experimentally, and found little give in the updo. Vanessa quickly added some hairspray, and then finished the look by placing crystalline flower pins among the curled tresses.

"Finally." Both girls sighed, then giggled.

"I'll be back in a bit to help you lace up, _chica_ ," Vanessa said as she rose from the bench and moved to the door. "We've got to be ready in 15, max."

"Got it." Kendra said as she rose from her own seat. She crossed the room to her closet, where a black garment bag was hanging from the top of the door. She unzipped the long zipper carefully, making sure not to snag any bit of the carefully crafted fabric. The dress had already been lovely when she bought it, but after leaving it to the brownies, Kendra doubted she would ever own a finer piece of clothing.

The dress itself was pale pink, reminiscent of an orchid in bloom; vibrant, yet soft. The bottom skirt was thin layers of silk and fine tulle, puffing it out a bit while still letting the fabric flow like water. The top half had had a simply jeweled, and high-necked design when purchased. Now, the front split into a deep V, straight down to where it met the skirt, while the back was done up as a corset. It was still jeweled, just now with finer minerals, stones and gems that would probably sell for millions. Kendra had also purchased plain nude heels to go with it, but had decided to leave them for the brownies at the last minute alongside Vanessa's. Now, the heels were embellished with creeping gold vines, the detail of which were extraordinary. If Kendra had to guess, she would have said they came from her grandmother's garden out back.

She fit her arms through the dress and did up the back as best she could before stepping into the heels. She steadied herself on the bed, and then snuck a glance in her floor length mirror.

Damn.

She looked good.

Kendra smothered a smile just as a knock at the door came. She called out to come in, already certain of who it was. As Vanessa came through the door, Kendra's grin came back completely. Where Kendra's dress was light and airy, nearly aloof, Vanessa's was dark and tempting, like a siren. It was a deep red, nearly maroon. The bottom skirt was chiffon, and flowed like water around the slit in the left leg. The halter top was made of two pieces of fabric wrapped criss-cross around Vanessa's chest, encircling her neck and leaving the back and stomach open. Her toned abdominal muscles peeked over the edge of the skirt, just visible when her stomach tensed, and Kendra was reminded of a predator. The other woman's black heels were embellished to match Kendra's, though the branches were thornier and more silver.

"Wow," Vanessa breathed as she got closer. "Kendra, you look absolutely stunning!"

"Me?" Kendra blushed. "What about you? You look amazing."

"Don't even, _mija_ ," she waved the compliment away, actually swiping a hand through the air. "You're going to be the Belle of the ball. And you deserve it. Now, turn, and let me finish lacing you up."

"I feel like a sneaker." Kendra muttered, prompting a laugh out of Vanessa as she did up the back of the gown. She wrapped her arms around Kendra's shoulders afterwards, resting her head on the younger girl's shoulder as they both gazed into the mirror.

"Have fun tonight, Kendra," Vanessa said, smiling softly. "You're only young once."

Kendra nodded, not feeling she needed words to respond, and reached up to clasp her friend's hand. Vanessa squeezed it briefly, and pressed a brief kiss to Kendra's temple before she straightened up.

"I'm going to head down, Kendra. Don't forget your earrings and the bracelets."

"Got it. See you in a bit."

Vanessa flashed her a sharp smile, then slipped out the door.

* * *

"They're taking forever." Bracken muttered, checking his watch for the eighth time.

"Something tells me you're just anxious," Warren chortled from his seat at the kitchen island, in clear view of Bracken and his pacing by the stairs. His bowtie was undone, and his cuffs unbuttoned. He seemed entirely unconcerned with this. "Ready to see your princess?"

"No. You?" Bracken looked up at him.

"If you're referring to Nessa, princess is not the name I'd pick," Warren snorted. "And not really. Not anxious, at least. Excited, curious, but not anxious."

"Well, you've probably been to things like this before."

"And you haven't? Aren't balls and galas kind of your thing? As royalty? I mean sure, there was prom and some buddies' weddings, but I try my best to stay away from these things."

"What's a prom?" Bracken looked bemused for a moment, before focusing on his anxiety. "Well, of course I've been to balls, but never like this. Never…"

"Never waiting for the girl at the bottom of the stairs?" Warren finished.

"Yeah." Bracken sighed, leaning against the bannister.

"It's a staple of mortal culture, you should try it more often."

Before Bracken could say whatever witty retort he was forming, the sharp clack of heels on the oak stairs silenced both of them. Warren straightened up, and Bracken moved to stand in front of the stairs.

"Relax, unicorn. It's just me." came a lightly accent voice that clearly did not belong to Kendra. Bracken slumped slightly, but straightened as Vanessa began descending the last few stairs. Warren had to hand it to them, they were really getting better at the friendship thing. Any other thoughts he might have had on any other subject, though, dissolved once Vanessa arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

"Warren," even the mild annoyance lacing her tone could pull his mind out of the fog it was now in. "You aren't even finished getting dressed."

"What the hell are you wearing?"

He saw her pause, and look affronted for a second, and realized that maybe that wasn't the perfect thing to say to his significant other, but his brain wasn't exactly working at full potential right now.

"Excuse me?"

"You look…" Warren fished around for a word adequate enough, and nabbed the first one that couldn't be taken as an insult. "Gorgeous."

He saw the pleased smile flash across her lips, her very red, very soft, lips, before she pulled it back. She couldn't hide the blush, though, and it became more apparent as she crossed the room to him to fix his tuxedo. Warren noticed Bracken had gone back to his choreography of checking his watch, the stairs, pacing, and repeating. Before he could laugh, Vanessa was in his personal space, fixing his bowtie with careful and practised hands. His own absently fell to her waist, and he let his calloused fingers drift over the exposed skin there. He was lost in her jasmine perfume, her glossy hair (even in heels she fell shorter than him, and he smiled secretly), her fingers pushing and tugging at his neck.

"You actually shaved." she spoke a moment later, bringing her hands away from his now-finished bowtie and placing them on his jaw. She was amused, but pleased, Warren could fathom that much through his hazy mind.

"Just for you." He winked, and she rolled her eyes. He could hear footsteps moving above them, door opening and people talking, and knew they were almost ready to depart. Before the main floor could be flooded with people, he leaned down, capturing her lips with his, moving his hands to the smooth expanse of her back. Vanessa sighed, in what he hoped was a happy manner, and wound her arms around his neck languidly, obviously not much caring for their small audience of one.

"Guys."

Neither one pulled back.

"Guys. Warren, Vanessa."

She bit at his lower lip with her impossibly sharp teeth.

"Seriously, are you two 16?" Bracken's somewhat angry voice finally broke through to them, and they quickly untangled themselves just as Trask came down the stairs. He nodded at them all, complementing Vanessa's dress and impressively keeping his eyes on her own. It probably helped that Warren was standing just behind her, practically glaring a warning at him.

Elise and Mara followed, the former squealing and running to clutch Vanessa's arms as she gushed over her dress. Vanessa returned the favor, taking the rare moment to actually squeal over something. Both Elise and Mara were dressed beautifully, Elise in a vibrant collage of purple and blue, Mara in a more understated, yet equally eye-catching navy. Tanu was next to join them, his black suit matching Trask's, contrasting Warren and Bracken, who had chosen slate grey instead. Ruth and Stan came from the study, each dressed in a more old style, but not so old it was glaringly obvious. It was fashionable if anything, and Vanessa complemented Ruth on her taste. After a moment of everyone gathering small items, checking itineraries, it was obvious the only missing people were the young Sorenson siblings.

"These kids are gonna be late to their own funerals," Warren muttered before going to shout up the stairs. "Kendra! Seth! We're leaving in negative six minutes, let's go!"

Two doors promptly opened and slammed shut in rapid succession, Seth flying down the stairs first, half-finished excuses pouring out of him as he jammed his arms into his jacket.

"Sorry! I thought it was earlier than it was, I was so close to beating the next level of Zombie Thrasher, and Natalie from English won't stop texting and my phone isn't working right-"

"Whoa, dude, slow your roll." Elise grabbed his collar to stop him, tugging him back so she and Vanessa could look over his ensemble. Finally, the last pair of shoes clacked rapidly down the stairs, and in much the same fashion as Seth, Kendra appeared, jamming her earrings into her ears and throwing excuses out left and right.

"My bad, I totally thought there was a spot on the dress, and the heels were uneven, and the light in the bathroom is acting up again, and- what are all of you looking at?"

Nearly every eye in the room was on Kendra, save for Vanessa who was trying to fix Seth's jacket, and every matching jaw was open. The young fairy girl began to feel warm under all their gazes, and started tugging at one of the folds of her skirt.

"Is this okay? Is it too bright? Is there actually a spot? Is-"

"Kendra," Warren spoke, and Kendra turned to him, surprised to find that his eyes had misted over. "You look beautiful."

"Radiant, I'd say." Grandpa Stan spoke next, and Kendra saw he was smiling proudly, Grandma dabbing at her eyes gently behind him. Looking around the room, she saw everyone was smiling approvingly, or proudly. Vanessa tossed her a wink, and even Seth gave her a lopsided grin and a thumbs up. Everyone was here, and loved her gown, everyone except-

"Kendra?"

Kendra spun to her right to see Bracken standing there, looking at her like he had never seen her before. She felt the blush begin to creep up her neck and gather behind her ears again, and nervously she went to play with the dress again.

"Hi." her voice sounded small, even to her, and her blush intensified.

"You look…" Bracken's jaw worked helplessly for a moment, before a slew of words tumbled out. "Amazing, stunning in every way, truly, just absolutely-" he paused, finally noticing the audience they had, the smiles and poorly concealed chuckles coming from their friends, and smiled bashfully, before returning his gaze to Kendra. "Breath-taking."

Kendra felt a smile split her face, and knew she was glowing from the way Bracken suddenly squinted at her. She concentrated on dimming her light, though she was certain her smile was no smaller. After a blissful moment, Kendra became keenly aware of all the eyes on her, and blushingly turned to face the small army of her friends.

"Um," she reached up to fiddle with a curled strand of hair. "Shouldn't we be going? Like now? I'm pretty sure we're late."

"Yeah, thanks Ken." Seth muttered from where he was trying to get his cufflinks to stay. She indulged in a moment of childishness and stuck her tongue out at him.

"We can't go anywhere yet." Warren stated, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Uh, why?" Mara decided to take the bait. With one of his cheesiest smiles yet, Warren reached into an inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out nothing other than selfie stick.

"Picture time, duh."

And so, the next few minutes were filled with the family passing the phone on the camera around, posing both seriously and ridiculously. Elise brought out her professional camera a few moments later, taking pictures of couples in classically cheesy prom poses. Briefly, Kendra wondered if this is what attending an actual prom would be like. It would probably pale in comparison to a Knights gala. She pushed these thoughts from her mind though, as Warren and Vanessa each wrapped an arm around her. She returned the embrace and let herself smile freely, laughing as the camera flashed brightly in her eyes.

* * *

Kendra had never seen so much gold in one room, not even in Living Mirage. The ceilings, columns, and floor tiles were draped with gold, laced with gold, inlaid with gold. If she were being honest, Kendra felt it was a bit much. The room was definitely warm in atmosphere, the lights in the chandeliers creating an amber glow, but it lacked something essential; the actual feeling of Christmas.

Then again, with everyone's life in theoretical danger at any given moment, Kendra supposed the gold wasn't entirely to blame.

Before any aggressively sad thoughts could completely overwhelm her, a cool glass of something was being pushed into her hands. She glanced up sharply, her eyes connecting with the striking blue-silver of Bracken's. He smiled joyously, and she was pulled from her own thoughts as he began speaking.

"Enjoying yourself, love?"

"I am." Kendra forced a small smile onto her face, quickly taking a sip of the cider in the goblet to hide the fragility of happiness.

"I quite forgot how wonderful balls were," Bracken mumbled. "The dancing and the music and the food and drink. Not to mention the company." He playfully bumped her shoulder with his and winked, sending a tiny burst of butterflies through Kendra. Her smile became more genuine.

"You're such a prince, you dork."

"Hm, indeed."

They stood next to each other, shoulders touching, enjoying each other's' company for a few more moments. Soon enough, the music changed into something much more vibrant, and welcoming. A dancing melody.

"M'lady," Bracken had swept into a bow before Kendra could even blink. "Would you do me the glorious honor of having this dance?"

"Sure, prince charming." Kendra chuckled, dipping into her best curtsy. Bracken rose gracefully from his bow, took her hand in his, and led her onto the dance floor. The took up the first position near Warren and Vanessa, and alongside Mara and Elise.

"Mara, I'm really no good at this I have two left feet we should just sit this one out-" Elise was muttering away under her breath, sounding flustered.

"Quiet, Lis, I'm waiting to hear the countoff." Mara was clearly paying her panicked partner no mind. Meanwhile, Warren was voicing milder concerns to his own dance partner.

"Do you know this one?" he murmured to Vanessa, low enough for Kendra to hear. She watched Vanessa shrug, heard Warren whine, and then she was spinning.

Bracken clearly knew the steps, because Kendra spent the next six minutes in blissful fluid motion. She was dipped, spun, and lifted; she laughed and cheered as her stomach did little somersaults. She felt like she was being tossed around the room, but in the most delightful way. As the tempo slowed, Kendra found her eyes locked with Bracken's, their bodies moving in an effortless, perfect harmony.

The music was light, airy, and filled with string instruments Kendra never knew existed. The piece sounded like Vivaldi's Spring and Beethoven's 5th had a musical love baby and then launched it into orbit. As she looked around, she noticed everyone else seemed to be stuck in their own sort of trance, not unlike she and Bracken. Elise had clearly gotten over her performance anxiety, laughing wildly as she spun back into Mara's arms. Vanessa and Warren were pressed almost too close to be publically acceptable. Even her own grandparents were swaying in a close embrace, their eyes never straying from their partner's.

"Bracken?" Kendra murmured from where she had rested her cheek on his shoulder.

"Yes Kendra?"

"What piece of music is this?"

"Ah, I see you've noticed its effect." he chuckled. "It's an old fairy waltz, "The Waking of the Lilies". Legend has it that the fairies would play this tune every Equinox, as winter melted into spring. They would fly over the valleys, and wake up the flora with their music and dance."

"Is it true?"

"Some say yes, some say no. I like to believe so, but I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic."

"Hm, yes you are."

They finished the dance after another series of gravity defying swoops and leaps and spins. Kendra was in desperate need of some water by the end. She excused herself, laughing as Elise dragged Bracken out for the next song, a Celtic jig about birds. Just as Kendra was lifting her glass to her lips, a familiar hand landed on her shoulder. She turned to see her grandfather with Seth.

"Hey Grandpa, hey Seth. What's up?"

"Kendra, dear," her grandfather began, eyes shifting lightly around the room. "We need to have a brief chat."

"Sure, what's up?" she walked off to the side of the room with her brother and grandfather, away from the activity but not enough to be suspicious.

"Just keep your wits about you tonight, your senses sharp. Be aware." Grandpa imparted on them gravely.

"Beware, you might say?" Seth's poor pun attempt fell flat as their grandfather turned to look at him, not a ghost of a smile on his face.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Kendra felt claustrophobic suddenly. Her dress felt too tight, her hands were sweating. The hairs on the back of her neck seemed to stand up, as if she was being watched.

"I have a very bad feeling about tonight, you two. No reason to beat around the bush. With all that's happened, tonight is just too perfect. Keep each other close."

"And our enemies?"

"Pray they are elsewhere tonight, my boy." Grandpa placed heavy hands on their shoulders, and moved away, presumably to prepare his address for the evening. Kendra turned to her brother, hand itching towards the knife strapped to her thigh, hidden under her dress.

"Tell me Warren gave you some kind of defense tonight." she murmured, picking up a glass of iced water from designated refreshment table near them. She did her best to casually sip it, stopping herself from chugging the water at speeds that would make one Brittany Favre proud.

"Duh, sis. Two knives and a small smoke bomb in the pockets of my vest. And a snazzy pocket watch that I could probably swing around really hard in a pinch."

"Splendid. Let's head back to the tables, I think Grandpa is about to start."

They began to make their way toward the table they were sharing with Warren, Bracken, Vanessa, and Tanu. Kendra's eyes sought out her friends' as they moved off the dance floor. Warren was escorting Mara off the floor, both looking utterly done with the idea of dancing entirely. Tanu meandered off with Elise and Bracken trailing behind him, the two chattering happily about what Kendra could only assume was the selection of dances. Vanessa was walking alongside a tall man Kendra had never seen before, but the two looked to be in good spirits as they parted ways to follow their groups. She sidled up to Vanessa's side as the older woman called a final "thank you" to the man.

"Friend of yours?" Kendra asked, trying to keep her voice level. She refused to come off as a paranoid whackjob in front of everyone. She was being ridiculous.

"No, actually." Vanessa tucked a wayward strand of hair back into her updo. "He asked me to dance, and Warren was over with Mara, so I figured why not. Nice enough guy. Not too talkative. More handsy than I would've liked." She shrugged noncommittally. "All in all, not the worst dance partner I've ever had. And believe me, that's saying something."

Kendra giggled, and let her nervousness slip away as she listened to Vanessa, a veritable beacon confidence and self-security. She knew what she was doing. The two took their seats, Bracken twining his right hand with her left as she placed it on the table. She squeezed his quickly but tightly, and he returned the gesture with a warm smile. She smiled back, but anything they might have said was cut off by her grandfather's voice echoing around the hall.

"Good evening, my fellow Knights, and a very happy holiday to whatever celebrations the future holds. That being said, I now strongly advise you to keep your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. This season should normally be one of hope and good cheer, but unfortunately, our occupations have other festivities in mind. You all know of the recent occurances, what has been happening in the 50 mile radius of Hartford, Connecticut, and how very desperate the situation is growing. The number of victims of this epidemic, this plague of sorts, grows almost everyday. Please report anything directly to me if seen, or heard, or even smelled, this evening and going forward. Our vigilance must be constant."

"Now, in these hard times family and friends are something we must cling to and protect, and let be our guiding lights in these increasingly dark times." Kendra glanced around the table and met the kind, worried, but fierce eyes of those she now considered her family. "However, be advised that, while we may feel sheltered and jolly and warm at the moment, hidden and protected even," Grandpa paused and allowed his eyes to slide over the crowd. More than a few people squirmed. "Evil could always be closer than you think. On that note, enjoy the rest of your night and holidays, stay merry and bright folks."

No sooner had Stan turned to step down from the podium did the whole front of the room seem to explode into action. Kendra watched in slack jawed horror as a man and woman at the front table jumped out of their seats, turned to their dinner companions, and cut them down with knives they must have had concealed. Most everyone came to their events armed, but at the given moment the institution was clearly turning against them. The other four people at the table with the two turncoats were dead before the room had even had a chance to react.

The man, a tall lanky fellow, turned toward their side of the room and began weaving his way toward what Kendra could only assume was her family's table. Bracken grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her seat, moving backwards with her as Warren, Vanessa, and Tanu came around the table and pushed themselves in front of herself, Bracken, and Seth. Warren made some futile motion to put himself between Vanessa and their approaching assailant, but the blix was having none of it.

"Come out, come out, princeling." The man snarled, his voice warped and scratched. He sounded like a cold shadow given vocal cords, but only after they'd been dragged down an unpaved road. As he walked, he cut down anyone in his way, either with his blade of some unseen magic. He sent Trask and Mara sailing across the room, and sliced Elise across the forearm as she moved to stall him.

Warren and Vanessa and drawn their own swords, and a small hand dagger in Vanessa's case, and Tanu has moved to block the other three with his broad body. Before the man could come within five feet of their group, Warren rushed him and began beating him back with his sword. Vanessa moved to join him, but was blocked and distracted by the woman who had helped the man with the first attack. The real dancing began then.

For the few seconds Kendra managed to peel her eyes away from Warren and Vanessa and look around the room, she was met with violence. People were fighting, with fists and blades and axes and all sorts of weapons, all over the room. There must have been more moles than they could have ever expected. Trask was on his feet again, but Mara was nowhere to be found. There was yelling and shouting and cries of pain and anger and sadness as people fell, but Kendra might as well have been deaf for all she heard of it. In her peripheral, she saw a crossbow bolt go zinging across the room, and it landed with a dense "thunk!" in the far wall, not two inches from where a man was beating another with a broken table leg, and Kendra knew her grandmother had entered the fray.

She looked over to Bracken, and found him drawing his own sword. A brief glance at Seth found him doing the same to his knives. Kendra turned, ears ringing, and looked to where Warren should have been, but he was gone. Instead, the man was advancing on them, and quickly. Tanu moved to bull rush the man, like a linebacker, but was tossed aside like a ragdoll by an unseen force. Kendra followed the arc of his body, and follow the sick rainbow to where Tanu landed, not two feet from where a disheveled Warren was shakily getting to his feet. Blood was spurting quickly from a nostril, and his lip was swollen and purple. His nice suit was sliced and tattered, and he was most certainly limping.

"Kendra, move." Someone seemed to whisper in her ear. She shook her head as if batting away a gnat.

"Kendra, move!" The voice was speaking to her now, and she turned around, trying to hear it over the ringing that seemed to just be getting louder and louder and louder and-

"KENDRA, MOVE, NOW!" Kendra was thrown violently to the side, but it had most certainly been done physically, not by whatever magic their attacker was using. She landed roughly on her back, and felt the air rush out of her lungs. It took her slightly longer to recover than she would've liked. She glanced up, saw Bracken and the man engaged in heated combat, and unsheathed the knife strapped to her thigh. This man wanted to hurt Bracken; she refused to allow that.

Kendra charged the man, gaining his attention, holding the knife at her side like Vanessa had shown her. However, just as the man turned with his blade aloft, and began to bring it down in a terrifying, soundless arc, she ducked fluidly to the right, dancing around the man until she was on his now unguarded side. His blade dully thudded to the floor, and Kendra sliced into his abdomen with her own knife. The wound was shallow, and uncertain, but it was there all the same. She danced away again as the man tried to swing his more cumbersome weapon into her, and sliced as his shoulder this time, keeping her movements light, quick, and purposeful.

Soon enough, she could hear the man panting and knew she had gained the upper hand. Bracken had been pulled into another bout, with a figure she had not seen before. Vanessa was still fighting the woman, but while the mystery lady looked sweaty and haggard and all over exhausted, Vanessa was still fighting in peak form. Kendra knew being a blix gave her friend higher stamina, but the woman also looked a good decade older than Vanessa. Tanu was tending to Mara and Elise, who was looking blooder than she had after the first attack, and Seth was guarding the makeshift medical corner with his two daggers. As she turned to finish off her opponent, Warren came up from behind the man and slammed the silver pummel of his sword into the man's temple. He crumpled with a cry, and Warren spat on the man's prone form. He turned to her, opening his mouth to say something, but before he could his eyes slid behind her and widened in horror. Kendra turned just in time to see what he was seeing.

Another man had joined the woman fighting Vanessa, and the blix had certainly lost her upper hand. She was struggling hard against two opponents, but before Kendra or Warren or even Bracken, who had turned toward the fight as well, could move to assist her, the second man pulled out a blow gun. It was not unlike the ones Vanessa used herself, but where hers were bamboo, his looked to be made of some long bone. Vanessa was turned toward her female opponent, the man behind her. Just as Vanessa turned to parry the man's presumed strike, he raised the blowgun to his lips. Kendra felt herself running, flying across the room to try to help, to stop, to save, felt Warren and Bracken right beside, but knew in her mind they were already too late. The man inhaled deeply, Vanessa turned fully, and he fired when her neck was in point blank range. A fraction of a second later, Bracken slammed into the man, but the deed was done.

Dimly, Kendra was aware of the moles, the enemies, the dark spies, falling back, escaping, feeling. Those that were still alive or able to move, at any rate. But she couldn't be bothered to care. Warren was yelling for Tanu, holding Vanessa to his chest after having grabbed her before she could hit the ground. Kendra was frozen to the spot, knife still in hand, watching as inky blackness slid under Vanessa's olive skin, following her veins, flowing from the spot the dart had pierced, just above her jugular. The blix's eyes were closed, but they moved rapidly and her eyelids fluttered spasmodically, and Kendra felt 15 again, unknowingly watching Vanessa send her brother to his presumed death. The irony didn't fully grasp her, but rather slid silently through her subconscious. Like the poison in Vanessa, and like the blood still pouring from Warren's nose. Kendra watched the blood slide slowly down his face, off his chin, and onto the maroon silk of Vanessa's gown. It dripped in that pattern for hours, as they moved Vanessa into a car and back to Fablehaven, Warren never releasing his hold, Kendra never letting go of her friend's hand. It dripped steadily, softly, counting seconds, minutes, hours, and the number of tears Kendra's own eyes had shed in tandem with her cousin. By the time Vanessa was laying in the medical bed in the house at Fablehaven, Warren's dripping and Kendra's tears and stopped and dried, and Vanessa's entire neck was as dark as the night sky that hung above them outside the house, empty and confining and seemingly pressing in closer minute by minute.

* * *

 **I'm only a little sorry for that ending. It just had to happen y'all.**

 **FK and I plan on finishing this story up fairly soon, but fret not, we already have other plans in motion. The next update will be much sooner than 340 some odd days. Again, sorry for that. And, y'know, major thanks to those who kept reviewing and reading during this off year. It means more than I can ever express, and you readers are why this story is still going. So thank you, all of you. Happy turkey time!**

 **-PP &FK**


	12. Sunrise Sunset

**ALEXA. PLAY THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN. Apologies for the insane wait for this chapter and the cliffhanger. Your authors had a rough year but we're back now! We hope this chapter is all you've waited for, and that you enjoy. Merry not Christmas!**

 **IMPORTANT: Before you embark on our next installment, please keep one thing in mind; feministkendra and I are active readers of many of the works here on FF and on AO3. We have recently become of aware of another story that bears an uncomfortable level of similarity to this fic right here. We aren't going to name names or point fingers. Yet. But just know this. We have poured blood, sweat, tears, and magic into this story. It is our baby. We love this. For someone to take the skeleton and muscle of this and try to label it their own, down to the twists and turns and plotlines we labored to create? Is cruel. Don't plagiarize. Because you are. Enjoy.**

* * *

The sunrise crept softly over the preserve and shone all too cheerily into the Sorenson's empty kitchen. Kendra barely paid it any heed as she sipped her second can of Red Bull that night. Morning. Whatever. The two had blurred together a few hours ago and she didn't care enough to make the distinction. The grandfather clock in the hall ticked loudly, ominously, threateningly. She felt an overwhelming urge to rip its golden hands from its pearl-marble face.

"That crap is gonna stop your heart."

"Live fast, die young, bad girls do it right."

"Really? Jokes now?"

"Well you're certainly not gonna make them so-" Kendra bites back acidly, feeling too many things to really comprehend, none of them very fair or kind to the man in front of her.

"Sorry," Warren snarks, clearly anything but. "I'm just a little frustrated with my, well, whatever, at Vanessa, for pulling that stunt."

"What stunt?" Kendra exclaims, gesturing a little too wildly and sloshing some caffeine. "She did her job, the job she fought so hard to get back, the job she's so damn proud of."

"The job she keeps using to do dumb shit to get back in our "good graces" or whatever." Warren pulls a cup from the cupboard and slams it down with far too much force onto the marble counter.

"Oh please," Kendra scoffs. "Vanessa fights for her, don't take that from her."

"I'm not, I just-"

"Listen, dude," Kendra throws back the remainder of her can, the sugar making her teeth ache. " You need to stop looking so inward all the time. We know you care and love us, but it is not always about you."

Warren said nothing, turning away to rifle through the K-cup drawer. Kendra pressed on.

"Vanessa made the hard call because she had to, because that's her duty as a knight. You do it all the time and end up like this and worse. Now you know how we feel," she pauses to collect herself and sigh. "You can't blame yourself every time someone gets hurt, Warren. We know you want to protect all of us, all the time, but it's not realistic. Share the load, and maybe fewer of these situations will happen. Maybe not, but at least there will be less smothering guilt floating around."

Kendra's throat was raw from all the tears she had shed over the past few hours. She had thought herself all cried out, but miracle of miracles, more tears were slowly making tracks down her cheeks. She noticed Warren wipe discreetly at his eyes, too.

"So, I guess I'm saying what goes around comes around, and at this rate one of you morons is gonna end up dead because you're all stupid Knights, and I'm really sad and these stupid tears won't stop so will you just hug me so we can be sad together?"

Before she could even finish speaking, two strong arms had caught her in a bear hug. Warren's old blue flannel smelled like varnish and barn and coffee and _home_. She let it soak up the remainder of her tears, and tried her best to imprint everything about the hug in her mind. She always forgot how easy it was to lose someone until you were standing at the abyss, the point of no return. Until someone was laid up in bed, unconscious, looking fragile and sick and wrong. She buried her face deeper into Warren's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, kid," Warren's voice was rough with unshed tears. "I'll do better. I promise. I'll do better."

"It's not your fault, Warren. None of it is. Ever. I know how hard it's to believe those words, and not just hear then, but I need you to try."

"Done." Warren pulled away and gave her a shaky smile, squeezing her shoulders, before moving away to grab his coffee. "I'm going to go sit with her for a little. You should sleep."

"Sleep is for the weak, Warren." Kendra said seconds before she yawned.

"Yeah, sure, Kens," Warren chuckled as he strode past her, ruffling her hair as he did. "See you in the morning, O Strong One."

Kendra huffed, fixed her hair, and cast her gaze about the now empty kitchen, struggling to remember what she had been in here for. When she came up blank, she shrugged, and decided to take Warren's advice and try to get some rest. Before she could reach the stairs, though, she heard Bracken calling her from the living room. She diverted her path, and found him there pacing.

"Bracken? Is everything ok?"

"No not exactly, love," Bracken stopped his pacing to fiddle with a timepiece on the mantle. There was no fire in the hearth, and the dark room cast deep shadows over Bracken's face. "I'm afraid I can't heal Vanessa."

"What?" Kendra balked, the anxiety climbing up her throat effectively vanishing any lingering exhaustion. "Why not? What's happened"

"Our species- we don't- I can't," Bracken paused and sighed, swallowing thickly before continuing. "I was never meant to heal a blix. My magic is not going to do anything more than add to her pain. May kill her faster, even. Our biologies are just too different."

"So what happens now?" Kendra asked in a voice that felt so small, she was afraid the shadows would swallow her words whole.

"You heal her."

"What? Me?" Kendra all but yelled. "I have almost no practice! I could kill her!"

"But you won't, Kendra," Bracken turned to her and crossed the room, placing soothing hands on her shoulders. "I have faith in you, and your abilities. You can do this."

"I can't!"

"You must."

"Bracken!"

"Kendra you have to try, or she'll die."

Kendra spun away and began her own pacing. She worried her lower lip between her teeth, ran her fingers through her hair. She warred with herself for a good minute before turned back to Bracken.

"Get Warren."

"Kendra-"

"Please, Bracken. Get Warren, now."

Bracken stood for a long moment, debating, and then sighed.

"As you wish." He walked out of the living room, and Kendra dropped into her favorite armchair. A moment later she heard footsteps approaching that were definitely not Bracken's.

"Kens? What's up?" Warren carefully lowered himself into the second armchair.

"I-I can't. I can't do it. Not without you knowing."

"Can't do what? Know what?" Warren was talking evenly, like he did on missions that we're going south. It did little to ease her mind.

"Bracken can't heal Vanessa. Something about biology. It will probably kill her if he tries. So he needs me to do it. But I can't-I've never-," Kendra put a fist to her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. "She's your Bracken, your everything, even if you haven't...and I-"

The dam broke. Kendra felt the tears spill over and start falling down her face as the adrenaline from the night finally caught up to her and wore off all in the same instant. "Warren, she can't die. Not like this. If I kill her, or if I fail and she-," Kendra took a shuddering breath. "You will hate me. If I fail, you will hate me. And I won't be able to handle that. I won't know how to live with myself if I take her from you."

Before she could press on, a calloused hand covered her own.

"Jeez, Kens. Take a breath kiddo. It's all gonna be okay."

Kendra looked up into Warren's eyes and saw only sympathy and understanding. She felt herself begin to cry harder.

"Kendra, you have been under so much stress and pressure since you were fourteen years old. Fourteen! And it's not okay. What we ask of you, all the time. You've been carrying the weight of the world on your young shoulders, and we put it there. So take a deep breath, because none of this is ever going to be your fault. Not any of the causes, and not any of the end results, are on you. So, if you feel up to healing Nessa, I say go for it, because I have the utmost faith in you. But if you can't, and you won't, I understand, and we'll find another way. It'll be okay. I promise. Just breathe. Nothing is worth you making yourself sick about it. I don't want that. Nessa wouldn't want that."

Warren had moved to run circles into her shoulders, kneeling in front of her on the carpet. She fell forward to rest her head on his shoulder as the tears began to stop.

"I'm scared" she whispered.

"Me too." He whispered back. It was the most comforting thing anyone had said all night. Kendra lifted her head off Warren's flannel clad shoulders, wiped her eyes, and stood. She offered Warren a hand to help himself up, and he took it. She looked him in the eye once he was on his feet.

"I want to try. For Vanessa." Kendra said, then took a shuddering breath. "But in case I can't we should wake Tanu to help figure out a plan B."

"Sounds like a plan, Stan." Warren smiled.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Moments later, Bracken, Kendra, Warren, Seth, and a very sleepy Tanu were all gathered in the Med Room. Grandma, Grandpa, and the others were waiting in the kitchen. Vanessa lay still on the bed, her ball gown long gone, now in a tank top and shorts. The dark magic under her skin that had turned her neck black within the first hour had spread. Her jaw and lower lip were turning ashen, and, lower down, her veins were mapping the poison's path toward her lungs and heart.

"Okay," Tanu started the conversation, shaking off as much exhaustion as he could as he grabbed a tray with some medical tools, scalpels and the like, and wheeled it over to Vanessa's bedside. "To recap, the dart punctured her throat, damaging the trachea and esophagus. The poison entered the bloodstream there, and is rapidly approaching some very vital and hard-to-come-by organs. Heart, lungs, kidneys, you get the deal. From what I can tell, the blend is not that highly concentrated, as it is moving quickly. So, the sooner we can get this ball rolling, the more damage we can prevent. If you all wanna move out, and give me and Bracken some time, it would be very appreciated."

"Actually, Tanu," Bracken cleared his throat and folded his hands behind him. "Kendra is going to be assisting you with this one."

"Kendra is going to do what now?"

"Allow me to explain, briefly," Bracken started, and waited for Tanu to offer an incredulous, if not impatient, eyebrow as a sign to continue. "My biology will not allow me to heal Vanessa. My magic may be Fae in nature, but I am a unicorn. I will more than likely kill her, as unicorns were never meant to heal her kind. It simply isn't possible. Kendra, however, is not a unicorn. She wields light Fae magic, with none of those predetermined biological hang ups."

"If she were awake right now, Vanessa would probably give you an A for the semester just for that little speech." Kendra murmured. Bracken smiles weakly.

"Thanks, love. I think."

"Kendra," Tanu said. "You know I trust you, and that I encourage you to take every opportunity to learn, and to harness your gifts. But this is a very delicate operation. Do you think you can handle the pressure?"

Looking into Tanu's open and kind eyes, Kendra's shoulders suddenly felt weighted down with all the world on them. Before she could let despair consume her, though, she squared those shoulders and returned his gaze.

"I don't know, if I'm being honest. But I have to try. Vanessa is friend, an ally, practically family. I owe it to her to give it my best shot," she stated, faking confidence she in no way felt. "And, thanks for asking, Tanu."

"Always, kiddo." He smiled back at her, and then grew serious once again. "Okay, everyone who isn't me or Kendra or Bracken, clear out. Sorry, Warren, but I need the space."

"I understand, man," Warren smiled sadly and clapped the Samoan on the shoulder. He turned to Kendra next. "Don't overthink it, Kens. You know what to do, deep down. I trust you. Love you kid." He ruffled her hair halfheartedly but kindly as he trudged out.

"You can do this, K." Seth chimed in as he too headed for the door. "You're, like, the smartest person I know. If anyone can handle this, it's gotta be you, sis."

Kendra bumped the fist he offered her before he rounded the door frame and disappeared from sight. She sighed and turned to Bracken.

"So, where do we begin?"

"I'll defer to Tanu from here on out. I'll be able to offer some emotional support, and even less magical support, but I'll do what I can should you need me."

"Thank you, dear." Kendra smiled shakily, and Bracken returned it softly, before they both turned to the potion master. Tanu stood up and walked over to the cart and Vanessa.

"Okay, Kendra, here's what we're gonna try first. The poison is physically in her bloodstream, but the poison is mostly magic itself. Try pulling it out through her skin, like osmosis. Do you remember that from Bio?"

"Yeah," Kendra nodded and she rolled her neck shoulders, letting her joints pop. "It's when liquid-y stuff phases through harder walls. Usually water between cells, I think?"

"Exactly. The poison is the water, and Vanessa's skin is the cell wall."

"Here goes nothing."

Kendra lifted a hand to Vanessa neck, resting her palm on the general area where the dart hit her. She closed her eyes, and let the energy she always felt resting deep inside her surround her. It felt like opening a dam deep inside her as light surged through her. She concentrated, taking a deep breath in like she did when she was meditating, She held the breath, feeling the light build to a crescendo, and then exhaled. As she did she directed the energy toward her palm, and focused on pouring it into Vanessa. Just as she should have felt her energy bridge the physical gap between their auras, it stopped, as if hitting a wall. She pushed forward mentally, but felt no budge. After a few moments, she released her concentration and allowed herself to dim. She opened her eyes to two very confused faces.

"Something is wrong," She said. "Just when my magic should be able to reach her aura and the poison, I hit a wall. I can feel the dark magic moving just beyond it, but I can't quite penetrate it."

"Sounds about right," Bracken sighed, running a hand through his already very messy hair. "In short, blixes' magic is known as blood magic. They derive their power and abilities from not only their own blood, but the blood they take in from other creatures. By the time they're adults, an active blix, such as Vanessa, will have built an intricate, uh, web, so to say, of blood magic within them. It has many side effects and uses, such as preventing conventional other magic from affecting them, such as simple light magic. I'm afraid I'm doing a rather poor job of explaining it, though, so you'll have to take my word for it that this won't work. Worth a shot."

"What will work, then?" Kendra felt a headache building from the impromptu bio lesson and the prolonged use of her magic. And she still wasn't done.

"If I followed all that correctly," Tanu said. "This should do the trick."

He picked up the scalpel from the tray. Kendra felt herself start to sweat.

"I don't know if I like where this is going." She muttered.

"I know I don't," Tanu smiled ruefully, then held out his hand. "Palm, please, Kendra. I promise it won't be deep"

Kendra took a deep breath, and turned to Bracken and Tanu began cutting open her palm. Pain blossomed over her hand, sharp and unforgiving and pulled a gasp of pain from her as her eyes started to sting with unshed tears.

"Talk to me, love. Walk me through what's happening. Please. I need to learn." Kendra looked at her boyfriend pleadingly. He grabbed her other hand.

"Direct contact between blood should be enough to get through a blix's natural defense systems," Bracken's voice washed over her like a wave, and helped to soothe the burning racing across her palm. She fought the tears from her eyes and focused on his words. "It will add you to their "web", so to say, but not like a bite will. The side effects are nil. Once your blood can intermingle with theirs, your magic should be able to move across the bridge the blood magic would otherwise create."

By the time Bracken finished his spiel, Tanu has finished with Kendra's hand and was working on Vanessa's neck. After a moment, he moved away.

"All set, Kendra."

Kendra took a deep breath and moved back to her spot beside Vanessa. She placed her throbbing, bleeding hand on Vanessa's shallowly bleeding neck. She tried to ignore that the blood oozing out was thick, black, coagulating, and faintly rancid. Once her cut was pressed to her friend's, she closed her eyes again. She took a deep breath, pulling up the light she knew resided deep within her. She held her breath again for a moment, feeling the magic build and thrum in time with her pulse. She pushed away the tension building behind her eyes, deep in her skull, and focused on directing the energy within her into Vanessa as she exhaled a second later. There was no resistance this time as her light magic flooded into Vanessa, but there was a good bit of screaming from both parties.

Kendra felt her friend's pain as her own and her aura flooded through their blood. The pure white light of her magic coursed through the blix, absorbing the poison and pulling it forcefully out of her friend's body. Kendra could sense other dark magic, deeper in Vanessa's aura, but knew she couldn't touch that magic. Somethings were just better left alone, and Vanessa's biology definitely fell into that category.

Little by little, Kendra's light surrounded the poison and pulled it out of Vanessa. After what felt like an hour, but was most likely two minutes at most, Kendra felt her magic pulling back into her own body. She and Vanessa had stopped screaming, but before she could truly register her friend, the room, or anything of the sort, she felt her body growing heavy, and her head was most definitely being cleaved in two. She turned to let the others know she wasn't okay, but she blacked out before she even could even open her mouth.

* * *

Bracken POV

Bracken felt his eyes adjust as the light that was blinding him a moment ago began to recede. As the light faded fully back into Kendra, he stepped forward to help her. Before he could reach her however, he watched her whole body tense, and then drop like a sack of bricks. He yelled and rushed to her, dropping to his knees beside her prone body.

"Shit!" Tanu swore and surged out of his chair. He joined Bracken in kneeling by Kendra's side. They both turned her over just in time to see her veins pulse a dark midnight before fading back to invisible. A fraction of a second later, darker than average blood began to drip out of her nose and ears. Bracken felt himself on the verge of breakdown, but reigned in his emotions and turned to Tanu form some kind of help.

"Move your hand, Bracken, I need to check her vitals." Bracken did as Tanu asked, worrying his lip as Tanu pressed a hand to her neck and then her wrist, and then pressed his ear to her lungs. He sat up. "She's fine, physically. I think her body is just utterly spent, magically. That's all I can tell for now, until she wakes up."

"When the bloody hell will that be?" Bracken yelled, failing to contain his frustration. Tanu merely placed a kind hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I have no idea."

Bracken hung his head, pushing back tears. He righted himself quickly as footsteps approached the door. Warren appeared in the doorway seconds later.

"Hey all," he started warily, not seeing Kendra as she was blocked by Tanu's broad shoulders. "Just checking in to see what the various screaming was about."

His face brightened marginally when he saw Vanessa's neck was no longer darker than a moonless night, but was still confused when his gaze shifted back to the others.

"What's wrong with you two? You look like someone died."

Bracken shifted to stand, and Tanu moved out of the way. Warren's eyes fell on his younger cousin, blood still tricking out of her slowly. All color left his face as he took in the sight before him.

"What the hell happened in here?"

* * *

 **Well, that's that. Hope you all enjoyed. In better news, we have the next two chapter just about finished and will be uploading them once we feel they're ready to go! Please leave a review if you feel so inclined, they really do motivate us and mean more than we can say. And a huge thank you to all still following this story. So long for now!**


	13. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

**It's not Christmas. But these next few chapters are Christmas chapters. So, do with that what you will. Enjoy lovelies! Language warnings, we don't own crap, blah blah blah yay.**

* * *

Vanessa awoke the morning after the ball feeling disoriented, pained, and utterly dissociated. All in all, not her worse hangover. What was new, however, was the lack of cooperation her vocal cords were giving her. She tried clearing her throat, and nearly choked. She tried speaking, and barely managed more than a squeak. Swallowing was out of the question. She gave up after about twenty minutes of working her seemingly useless throat muscles and flopped back against the pillows. The med room had some pretty comfy pillows.

Wait.

' _Why the hell am I in the Med Room?'_ She thought frantically, and bolted upright. She threw the covers off her legs and stumbled out of the bed. She checked herself for wires or tubes, and when she found none, all but fled the room.

She wandered through the house carefully, finding herself on edge. The house was worryingly quiet. Every creak of every floorboard echoed. She couldn't remember anything of the past night. She couldn't speak and her throat felt tight. Her neck, upper chest, and jaw, burned vaguely, as if they had been scraped from the inside out.

All in all, nothing made sense.

She poked her head into the kitchen, and found it empty. She padded carefully across the floor, crouching slightly and making no noise. She grabbed an apple, and, after some debate, the paring knife left next to the bowl. Worst case scenario, there had been another coup at the reserve. She was more than likely just being paranoid.

She left the kitchen and moved toward the living room, still soundless. She scanned the living room, found it empty, and was just about to warily settle into an armchair when the screen door behind her creaked and slapped open loudly and suddenly.

" _¡Ay, Dios mio!"_ Vanessa yelped, straining her vocal cords painfully, and turned and threw her items towards the door. Warren neatly dodged the paring knife, which lodged itself into the wall just left of him, and Bracken took an apple to the face.

"Ow, Vanessa, what the hell?" Bracken cried. "Aren't you supposed to be in a coma?"

"What?" Vanessa was losing her patience quickly, and her voice even faster. "What the hell are you on about? Where is everyone? Why-" she cut herself off, feeling her throat run dry and then close up. Try as she might, she was done forming words for the time being. She ran her hands through her hair in frustration, and gesturing angrily at the boys to put the puzzle together for her.

"Nessa, please, take a seat and let me get you some tea." Warren tried to placate her, but she put her foot down, literally, and crossed her arms.

"Or we could do that later and answer those questions now?" Bracken suggested warily. Vanessa nodded stiffly.

"Okay," Warren sighed, dropping down onto the couch. "Here we go."

And so, Vanessa was informed of how she had been stabbed, poisoned, and healed. Which explained the throat failure and burning sensation, but not the quiet. She conveyed this by throwing an arm wide to gesture to the whole room, and looking utterly lost. Warren looked stuck between laughing and having a mental breakdown.

"You see," Bracken said. "After she healed you, Kendra kind of collapsed. And hasn't woken up since. It's been almost twenty four hours. Her vitals are fine but, y'know, we're all worried beyond belief," he laughed shakily, hysterically, and combed a hand through his hair. "Everyone is either out around the preserve or out around town trying to pick up leads and get answers. We were just by the pond. I went to talk to my mother, looking for answers, but I'm afraid it was fruitless."

Vanessa nodded jerkily, always a little uncomfortable when Bracken's family came up. She patted him awkwardly on the shoulder, and watched him brush away a few hopeless stray tears. It was then she noticed the bruise on his face, along the hollow of his cheek. She grabbed his jaw, gently turning his head. Bracken froze, almost frightened.

"What are you doing?" He hissed, accusingly, and she rolled her eyes. Unicorns. Always so paranoid. She tapped his cheek, a bit harshly, and gestured for an answer. She noticed Warren stiffen in her peripheral vision. Bracken tensed further.

"Um...you see-"

 _Bracken was standing over Kendra's body, lying still on the floor of the Med Room. Tanu was getting to his feet to console Warren, who stood frozen in the entryway of the room._

" _Warren, man, listen, she's okay, she just-"_

" _I said." Warren all but yelled, pushing angrily off the door frame. "What the hell happened?"_

 _He moved faster than Bracken could anticipate, hellbent on getting to Kendra and confirming that she was okay. Bracken should have moved, or dodge Warren's shoulder, or anything really._

 _Did he?_

 _No._

 _That would have been too easy.._

 _Instead, he got body checked by Warren and fell, his cheek hitting the windowsill he attempted to grab onto._

 _He failed._

 _His ass hit the ground first. He tried to orient himself, and succeeded briefly, only the have the tray of medical tools come flying after him. The reflex mallet slammed him in the same cheek._

 _Nice._

 _How dignified._

"-it was nothing." He muttered to Vanessa, shaking himself out of the flashback. "Anyway, you need tea. With lots of honey. And stuff. Stay here, I'll grab it, no worries."

Vanessa watched the prince run from the room, his silver blush not going unnoticed. She turned to look at Warren, who was staring intently at the drapes in the living room.

"Would you say those are eggshell? Or coastal ivory?"

Vanessa shook her head, rubbing her temples. She could feel herself being overwhelmed. She couldn't speak, Kendra was comatose, and the situation was worse than ever. All because of her. Because she wasn't fast enough, strong enough, _good_ enough-

"Hey," Warren's voice broke through the fog, and she opened her dark eyes to see his hazel ones boring into her. "It wasn't your fault, okay? I know where you go, how you get, after these kinds of things, but it's not worth it. It's not your fault."

Vanessa tried to sigh, coughed instead, and let her frustration wash away. She couldn't totally shake it, but she knew Warren was right, deep down. She stood from her seat across the room, and walked over to drop into Warren's lap. She felt his arms come up around her, and his lips touch her temple. A shaky sigh escaped him, and he gathered her close.

"We can figure this out," he murmured. "I know we can. We just all gotta shove our brains together. We're missing something major, I know it."

Vanessa hummed in agreement, mind racing, but letting her head drop onto Warren's shoulder.

"Hey Ness?" Warren murmured near her ear. She raised her head to look up at him. "I'm really glad you're okay. Like, unfathomably ecstatic."

"Me, too." She rasped, and let her head drop out of his sight as a true smile stretched across her lips.

* * *

A day or so later, Vanessa was feeling somewhat better, but not much. She could hold conversation for a whole two minutes before she needed tea or water and an ice pack for her throat. She spent most of her time with Warren or Mara. They didn't find her silence unnerving.

At the present moment, though, the silence that encompassed her and Warren was unnerving in every way.

They were in Kendra's bedroom, holding a small vigil by the girl's bedside. Her chest rose and fell softly, slightly, almost not enough. Her nose had been bleeding on and off, Vanessa had just cleaned the most recent spotting. She hadn't moved at all, not like she normally would when she was asleep. For all intents and purposes, she looked like a breathing corpse. Vanessa was beyond worried, and could tell Warren was too.

"God, look at her Vanessa," he murmured, brushing some hair out of his younger cousin's face. "She's so tiny. So young and innocent and whole."

"She seems like that now," Vanessa whispered, eyes downcast. "But I'm worried that all of this, that we, are taking that away from her."

"All I ever wanted to do was protect her," Warren muttered. "And now look at us. She's in a coma, poisoned, getting more and more hateful every day. I just feel like-," Warren sighed explosively. "Nevermind, it's not important."

"No, please," Vanessa grabbed the hand of his that wasn't holding one of Kendra's and stared at him imploringly. "I want to hear. I-I want you to tell me."

Warren held her gaze for a moment before pressing on.

"I feel like a failure."

"Warren, you are the farthest thing from a failure in her mind, I can guarantee it."

"Doubt it." He muttered mulishly. Vanessa sighed and took a moment to collect her thoughts before she continued.

"How can you be a failure, _mi amor?_ " She moved to sit on Kendra's bed, facing Warren directly. She reached out and laid her hands along his jaw, turning his head toward her and holding him gently there. "Kendra looks at you like you put the stars in the sky just for her. How can she see you as a failure when, whenever she feels sad, the first person she wants is you? Not her brother, not even Bracken, but you. How can she see you as a failure when you taught her how to wield a sword? How to defend herself? How to be cool in the face of imminent peril? Warren, you taught that little girl to be strong, to be brave, to stand up and fight when everyone else wants to run and hide, you gave this little girl a hero. You are her hero, Warren Burgess." She paused to wipe the tears falling down Warren's cheeks with the pads of her thumbs. "You let her paint your nails when she's sad. You watch Disney movies even if most of them are the actual spawn of the demon king. You give her piggy back rides when her feet hurt, or let her cling to you like a koala when she's tired, no matter how absolutely inconvenient it may be. You go running whenever she has nightmares and stay awake with her until she isn't afraid to fall back asleep anymore, no matter how tired you are. You were her friend when she was absolutely alone, no matter the situation, and now you're friends because with the two of you, neither of you are ever really alone. Your bond is so strong Warren. Don't ever, ever doubt it."

Warren looked as if he was a hair away from crying, keeping himself together with a piece of tape. But Vanessa had one more thing to say. "Look at her, she has already been through hell and worse. But she has remained this pure, happy, new and whole. Do you know why this tiny girl was able to remain so calm in the face of witches? In the face of dragons? In the face of demons? Because she had you, her protector. Guiding her every single step of the way. You are no failure, Warren. She's still here."

Warren broke.

He pitched forward into Vanessa's arms, and she caught him easily, cradling his head to her chest as he finally let go of all the stress and anger and pain of the past months. He was mumbling nonsense as he wept, apologies and promises, but she hushed them all as he dragged her nails along his scalp, down his back, rubbing soothing circles and being the rock Warren so desperately needed. She had long since stopped fighting her own tears, and bowed her head to rest on Warren's as they dripped off her nose and chin into his hair. After a few minutes, Warren calmed down enough to form coherent sentences. Which was excellent because Vanessa's little speech had left her throat practically bleeding.

"When I see her like this, Van," Warren sucked in a ragged breath. "All I can think of is that stingbulb. Of finding her dead. Failing to revive her. Seth's face. Everything-"

"Hush, Warren." Vanessa whispered softly, but firmly. "You know this isn't that. You can't let yourself fall into those thoughts. The "What-ifs" and the "Maybes". Do you know why? Because they are the true poison, and worse than we've been infected with. They will block out the light that shows you the right path."

"You sound like a fortune cookie."

"Yes, it was one of my mother's more practical sayings."

They lapsed into a quiet silence, Vanessa still cradling Warren's head to her chest. Her breathing was rough, and her throat throbbing. She was just about to suggest getting up to go when Warren spoke up again.

"I'm so damn proud of our kid, Nessa."

"Warren," Vanessa chuckled. "She's not our kid."

"Hmmmmm, I don't know Nessa. Kendra, Seth, Bracken? Kind of our kids."

"No. Definitely not the horse."

"They're ours and you know it."

"I'm calling Dr. Phil."

"Nessa-aah." Warren whined. Vanessa chuckled and patted his head before stealing a glance at Kendra sleeping under her pink duvet. Her mind flashed quickly through the afternoons spent training or hiking, the days spent shopping, the nights spent practicing makeup or swapping stories or teaching Kendra how to cook. Her eyes moistened, and she wiped them surreptitiously.

"Fine, whatever. They're kind of our kids."

"Softie-ow!"

"Serves you right."

"I have sensitive ears, Van, they bleed if they get flicked."

"I wish you had a sensitive mouth. You'd talk less."

"Ouch, Ness. Low blow."

* * *

As the days since the incidents dragged on, tension was high among those in the house. The preserve's occupants had been short-tempered, rude, and cold, just to be brief. And as more time passed in close proximity to the poison in the makeshift lab, and exposure to those who had been infected, fighting began to break out among the knights.

* * *

Seth was washing his hands in the sink after breakfast when he noticed Bracken just sitting at the kitchen table, looking like someone had just killed his entire family. Seth sighed loudly, mildly annoyed. He understood Bracken would be upset but, c'mon, Kendra was his _sister_ and at least Seth made an effort to show emotion.

"Dude, get over it." Seth found himself saying.

"...Excuse me?" Bracken asked, sounding confused. "Get over what?"

"Kendra!" Seth exploded. "Ever since she fell into a coma you have been staring off into space acting as if you're whole life is over! I mean _c'mon_ man you showed better optimism when you thought you were doomed to spend the rest of you're incredibly long life in a stupid prison!"

Bracken was looking more and more irritated until he just looked plain angry. "Do you not even care that your sister is in a coma that she might not wake up from? You dare get angry at me for being upset at the prospect? I guess you don't truly love her, then, huh."

Bracken shoved his chair back when he stood, crossing the kitchen in seconds, but before he left he sent one more scathing remark over his shoulder. "I am truly _disgusted_ by your lack of empathy Seth Sorenson."

And then he left Seth alone, standing in the middle of the kitchen.

* * *

"Dude, the peonies go in the patch to the right."

Warren considered it a victory he hadn't lobbed the spade in his hand at his brother yet. They'd been gardening in the greenhouse for hours, and Warren was just about as done with Dale as he could ever imagine being.

"For the second time, Dale, the peonies won't fit in the patch over there, because the Sun-chokers are too hostile. They'll kill the peonies in like, a week, and then Ruth will be pissed when there aren't any for the summer." Warren was trying to be patient but damn was it hard.

"Listen, Warren," Dale said in a voice that sounded more condescending than kind. Warren felt his patience melting away. "I appreciate your help, or whatever, around here today, but I'm the one who's been taking care of this crap ever since you started gallivanting all over the place with god knows who. So thanks for the input, but you don't know what you're talking about."

"Listen, you peony-picking ass-hat, I-"

"Warren," Mara's voice broke into the greenhouse, interrupting what was very nearly a major argument. "Can you spare a minute? I need your help in the stables."

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Warren spat, tossing the spade to the ground and yanking off his gloves as he spun on his heel and stormed out of the greenhouse.

Dale scarcely refrained from flipping Warren off behind his back as he left.

* * *

"Are you sure you didn't miss anything, Tanu?"

Tanu sighed, having been answering the prince's endless questions about Kendra for the last twenty minutes.

"Yes. Your royal fucking highness, I am sure." Tanu snapped, have had enough of Bracken's sly remarks about how it could have been Tanu's fault Kendra hasn't woken up, that he had missed something.

"No need to be so hostile, but since we are going there, how about you fuck off and maybe do your job as a healer better and actually heal Kendra instead of giving up and leaving her there to rot!" Bracken all but yelled.

"You think I would ever give up on Kendra?!" Tanu seethed "I would never. How dare you. Get out of my room and go bother someone else with your presence."

"Already leaving." Bracken stormed out, giving the potions master a final middle finger before disappearing out the door.

* * *

"I told you, Elise, stop singing under your damn breath all the time, I'm trying to concentrate." Mara snapped.

"You could ask a little kinder, you know." Elise rolled her eyes, but stopped humming, not willing to get into it with Mara today.

"Could you both shut up? I can't focus with you two bickering every two minutes." Trask sneered at them.

"Oh please, you have been on the same page for fifteen minutes, you aren't focusing, you are daydreaming," Elise said sharply.

"Or maybe he couldn't focus because of your singing," Mara muttered.

"No! It was because of your non-stop fighting! I just said this!" Trask yelled.

They went around in circles like this until they all walked off, fuming.

* * *

"Where the hell have you been, Seth!" Warren exploded as soon as the young boy walked into the house.

"Out," Seth said monotonously.

"At ten P.M.? I don't think so. If you pull this crap again, I'm going straight to your grandfather." Seth rolled his eyes at the threat but Warren wasn't done.

"Kendra would be so disappointed." Warren shook his head, hoping to get through to Seth. But Seth seemed to snap, striding over to Warren and staring him right in the eyes. Warren could practically feel the anger seeping out of Seth.

" _Fuck. You._ " Seth spit at Warren, before storming off, leaving his older cousin standing there in shock.

* * *

"Move, blix."

Vanessa had little time to process the two words as she narrowly avoided getting body-checked into the wall by a surly looking Bracken in the main hall. Once the words had sunk in though, she felt her metaphorical hackles rising.

"Ex- _cuse me?_ " Vanessa seethed, spinning to face the prince, who had also stopped and turned to face her. "Why don't _you_ watch where you're going, your highness? Or are you too busy being above all of us to deem it necessary?"

"Don't put words in my mouth, Santoro. Stay out of my way, and make life easier for both of us." Bracken snarled. Vanessa knew in the back of her mind that it was the stress and dark magic floating around the house that was affecting them both. She didn't really care at the moment, however.

"Find me and apologize when you finally find and remove that stick in your ass, horse-face." She spat as she turned around and stomped the rest of the way to her room.

"Not likely, leech!" He yelled after her. Vanessa slammed her door shut in response.

* * *

The atmosphere in the spacious dining room was so tense Seth felt like he was drowning. His palms were itchy and clammy, and he couldn't keep his legs from bouncing under the table. The steak should have been delicious, but it tasted like dirt in his mouth. He just wanted to escape to the attic and his video games. He reluctantly turned back to the conversation buzzing around the table.

"Well, the situation sure isn't getting better," Trask muttered. "That much is obvious."

"Helpful, thanks," Vanessa muttered under her breath. Seth froze, but no one else had heard, and he was grateful. He turned toward Bracken, hoping to start a conversation, but the prince looked so morose Seth would rather have played ping-pong with the revenant.

"Can someone pass the pepper?" Tanu asked, and the Samoan man's usually calming voice came across as more apathetic than anything.

"Here." Dale chucked it at him harder than was probably necessary, and Tanu definitely noticed.

"Wow, thanks, Dale." Tanu sounded anything but grateful.

"Oh, I'm sorry, pal, I forgot I was passing to the Dalai Lama. Here, let me get up, so I can genuflect and then grind you some fresh pepper from the garden of serenity."

"Chill, Dale," Warren muttered from down the table. Half the group was laughing under the breaths, unkindly, and the other half looked ready to throw hands. Seth clenched his eyes shut and sighed explosively, not that anyone noticed. He wished his grandparents had come to dinner, but they were working on Knight business in the study. He had half a mind to join them.

"Shut up, Warren. No one asked you," Dale bit back. Warren just rolled his eyes, for once not rising to the bait. He reached across the table to grab the bowl of potatoes, and plopped some more onto his plate. As the younger Burgess shoveled a large spoonful of food into his mouth, the elder child spoke up again. "Wow, Warren, really elegant. If only Kendra were awake to watch you gorge yourself, then it'd be a real Merry Christmas."

The atmosphere's building tension reached a crescendo in the silence of Dale's statement, and shattered like glass when Warren stood so fast his chair slammed into the wall.

"Alright, you know what, you damn hayseed hick? I've had enough of you!" Warren had moved faster than almost anyone had anticipated, and was feet away from Dale when Vanessa and Tanu moved to block him.

"No, Warren, it's not worth it, please-"

"C'mon man, it's just Dale, don't lose your cool-"

Dale opened his mouth, looking like he intended to apologize, but Trask was talking before he could get a word out.

"Nah, who cares?" the usually collected former-FBI agent looked livid, and exhausted. "Let's all just fight it out, here and now. Violence is always the answer, right? Who needs knights, or-or experienced agents, or fighters? None of us are making a damn difference, so let's just give it up!"

"Trask, shut your mouth, huh?" Mara stood up, and drew nose to nose with her friend. "God, I am so tired of your stupid FBI complex, y'know that? Thinking you're so much better than us because you got a dusty-ass badge and a gun, get your bureaucratic ass outta here."

"Mara, please, calm down!" Elise tried to place a hand on her possible-girlfriend's (Seth really needed to ask Kendra about that when she woke up) arm, but Mara shook her off violently and rounded on her.

"Oh, get out of here, you prissy-!"

Seth squeezed his eyes shut again, turning and opening them to the scene at the other end of the table. Tanu, Vanessa, and Dale were all screaming about something, getting angrier and angrier by the second. Bracken had been staying out of it, hovering near Warren, but Tanu of all people rounded on him angrily, and then Bracken was yelling, too. Seth didn't want to hear what they were yelling about. Seth didn't want to hear any of this.

The room was shrinking, and his ears were ringing. His chest felt heavy like a weight was being pushed against his chest every time he tried to inhale. His jaw was trembling, and his eyes were starting to burn.

' _No,_ ' Seth thought angrily, trying to will the tears and the impending breakdown away. ' _I'm not a baby! I'm not some dumb baby who cries when things are hard. I'm the most awesome, coolest, bravest adventurer, and - and I-_ '

Seth jolted violently as a hand fell on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Warren staring at him. But he didn't look angry. Did he look...concerned? Sad? His cousin knelt down, and stared into his eyes.

"You okay, dude?"

Seth's mouth opened to say yeah, of course, he was okay, he was Seth freakin' Sorenson and he-

He was having a panic attack.

Because his family was falling apart.

Because his sister was hurt.

Again.

And because he was truly helpless to do anything about any of that.

"No." And then Seth felt the tears begin dripping like a leaky faucet down his face.

Warren's face crumpled a bit, like tissue paper, and he crushed Seth to his chest in a brief, but caring bear hug. Seth reciprocated desperately, clinging to Warren while he cried like a life preserver.

"Hang on, little man," Warren murmured, then pulled away. He cleared his throat, and shouted in a voice that Seth would really expect to hear more from his own father, or Grandpa at a Knights' meeting. "HEY! Morons! Shut up!"

Everyone in the room rounded on Warren, anger still etched into their features, making them all ugly in a way Seth couldn't really pin to physical appearance. Warren dropped a hand to rest on Seth's shoulder. Seth twisted his neck to look up at his cousin, his friend, and saw that he was angry, too, but in a more disappointed way.

Definitely reminding him of Grandpa. Not helping the waterworks.

"What the hell is the matter with all of you?" Warren's voice swept across the room. Vanessa, Dale, and Bracken looked down, ashamed. "I really am speechless!"

"I'm not." Seth's own voice shocked him, shaky and tearful. He'd spoken before really considering what that might mean. Typical. He pressed on, though, undeterred by the room's eyes on him. He wiped his cheeks as he stood, but the tears were leaking out faster than he could anticipate. He took a shaky breath.

"What's _happening_ to you? To us?" Seth felt his breathing growing erratic, and his voice raising uncontrollably. " _What's happening to my family?_ First, my sister almost dies and falls into a coma. Because I haven't dealt with losing her enough, apparently? And now, all of you, the ones who are supposed to be calm, level-headed, _adults_ start fighting like this? Like we don't have bigger things to worry about than badges, and Warren's eating habits, and passing the pepper?"

Seth is beginning to feel hysterical, and claustrophobic. He's breathing hard, and the tears won't stop. He hears a chair scrape, and looks up to see Trask moving toward him slowly, like approaching a wounded animal.

"Seth, calm down, buddy, it's all okay-"

" _NO!_ " Seth yells, stumbling backward. He trips over a chair and falls into Warren, but before anyone can help or grab him, he sprints out of the room, through the house, and out the back door into the yard. The cold December air slaps him in the face, stinging and biting where his face is wet from tears, but he doesn't stop running until he can hear the satyrs making merry for the Yule feast. He doesn't stop running until he finds the happiness and comfort, however temporary, he's chasing.

* * *

 **Yay angst. Love the angst. Feministkendra wrote a good portion of this chapter because she is absolutely amazing at emotionally intense moments. Go leave some love on her fic, Power of the Mind. I hope you all enjoyed, please leave some feedback and love in the comments. Ciao!**


	14. This is so sad, Alexa play Jingle Bells

**This chapter is...hefty. But important. I hope you all enjoy this, Merry Christmas in October! To the plagiarizers, last chance.**

* * *

Warren felt drained. Just completely and utterly drained. He stood alone in the kitchen, drying his hands on a towel after just finishing the dishes from the disastrous Christmas Eve dinner they had just had. He checked the time. 10:43. Still too early to turn in. Vanessa would be up feeding her animals, and he didn't want to fight with anyone else tonight.

He cast his eyes around the room, and, finding nothing of interest to occupy his time, decided to check on Kendra. The drafty old house was cold tonight, and he had to make sure she had her favorite throw blanket to ward off the chill. He sighed, and began walking toward the stairs, walking softly and carefully so as to not bump into anyone. As Warren climbed the steps to the attic bedroom, his thoughts wandered to Seth. He trusted the kid, and figured he was with the satyrs, but it was cold and dark out. He hoped the boy had at least remembered his scarf-

Warren paused at the top landing and shook himself a bit. He really was starting to sound like a dad. Or Stan. Yikes. He pushed open the door, harsher than necessary, hoping in the back of his mind that the creaking of the hinges would wake Kendra from her rest. He crossed the room, plopped into the chair that was now permanently next to the bed, and took Kendra's smaller hand in his. He paused for a minute to collect his thoughts, then began narrating the day to her.

"Hey, Kens. It's Warren. Which you probably figured out because no one else sounds like me...yeah anyway just wanted to check in and, ah, y'know. See how you were doing. And all that," Warren never found talking to a coma patient any less unnerving. And he had been one. "Dinner was kind of a shit show tonight. Everyone has been getting really punchy from the prolonged exposure to the dark magic stuff. Vanessa keeps calling it a toxin, Tanu keeps calling it a spore, and I don't really care about either side...don't tell Nessa that please. Anyway. Seth ran away into the woods. The fighting and the tension is getting to him. Can't blame the kid. But still, I'm worried. Really worried. And Bracken looks more depressed than those women in the beginnings of Prozac commercials."

Warren paused, and looked around the room as he waited for more thoughts to come to him. He glanced at the wall clock; 11:06. He sighed. On the shelf below the clock, there was a framed picture of him and Kendra. He squinted to look closer, and smiled when he recognized it. They had been goofing around on Kendra's new smartphone, and had taken a bunch of selfies. This one was the best though; they sported equally fashionable flower crowns, glitter falling all around them, and they were smiling so wide Warren's cheeks hurt just looking at it. It hurt Warren's heart to see it, too. This mission was killing his poor cousin; he hadn't seen her that happy in months. He ran a thumb gently over the back of Kendra's hands and continued to talk.

"I don't know what to do, Kens. I really don't. I'm trying to be there for everyone. Trying to be what they need," Warren took a deep breath before he continued. It was still hard to say such harsh truths, but he was getting better. "But I'm just not enough. And that's okay, really, because I'm not supposed to be. But, right now, we need more. I need more. I need help...I need you. We need you.

If Warren had any more tears left, he'd probably be crying. But he was well and truly cried out.

"We all love you, and miss you so much. Sure, it's only been three days since you went under. But I don't just mean that. We miss the you that we sent into that hellish high school and never got back. I miss your laugh, your stupid puns, the selfies, the Disney marathons with you singing along to every song, and listening to you play the piano. I miss playing lacrosse in the yard, and making s'mores in the kitchen for no reason. I miss talking to you, and listening to all your wisdom because let's be honest, I haven't got a damn idea what I'm doing."

Warren lapsed into silence again, letting his mind wander for God knows how long. He could hear people moving and shuffling around the house, getting ready to sleep. He knew he should go smooth things out with Dale and Vanessa and Tanu, but the idea of doing so sounded so exhausting Warren thought he might implode. After the last bedroom doors had shut, he hazarded a glance at the clock again; 11:32.

"It's gonna be a pretty sucky Christmas without you, kiddo," Warren murmured to both himself and Kendra. "I got the coolest present for you, too. I guess it could be a really late Christmas gift. Or a "Yay you didn't die saving my not-girlfriend from throat cancer on steroids" gift. They don't make cards to go with that second one, though, so. I guess we'll just kind of have to deal with that."

11:40

For the first time in a very long time, Warren bowed his head and said a brief prayer. He had no idea of anyone was listening, but he certainly didn't think it would hurt. He prayed for Kendra, and her health and happiness and everything you should always pray for. But he really hoped she would get bumped to the front of the prayers line. His little cousin was worth it.

11:50

Warren stood up, letting go of Kendra's cold and limp hand. He tucked her blankets in tighter, placed her favorite Stitch plush in her arms, refreshed her glass of water in the bathroom down the small hall, brushed some of her hair back and finger combed all the knots he could see. He put moisturizer on her face and rubbed her favorite lotion on her hands and arms. He was so open to doing anything that would pass time that when he noticed her lips were dry he found her chapstick and put some on her lips, afraid they would crack and bleed on her. That would suck. He stood back and surveyed the room and his cousin, and found there was nothing left to do.

11:58.

Warren leaned down, dropped a kiss on Kendra's forehead, said another eensy teensy little prayer, to boost the first prayer, and turned to leave. He glanced at the clock.

12:00

"Merry Christmas, kiddo." Warren sighed loudly to the quiet room. He opened the door, placed a hand on the light dimmer, and-

"...Warren?"

Warren spun around the face the bed so fast, he most definitely got whiplash. Kendra was still lying down, but her hand was twitching, and a second later, she coughed lightly.

" _Kendra?"_ Warren had to stop himself from screaming as he all but threw himself across the room to her bedside. Sure enough, when he looked down into the nest of blankets, he could see Kendra's eyes opened just a sliver. Her breathing was still labored, but stronger. She was _awake._ He dropped down to sit on the bed and took her hand in his, pressing a kiss to her small fingers.

"Warren," Kendra's voice was small, so small, but there. "Did I...do it? Did it work?"

"Do what?" Warren was utterly lost. "What were you supposed to do?"

Kendra seemed to have not heard him though as she began murmuring again, almost to herself. "Oh God, oh no, I failed," she paused to heave in a labored breath. "I failed, I failed, I failed. I couldn't do it, I knew I couldn't, why did I try," Kendra was growing hysterical, her voice wavering in pitch, her breathing erratic. She tried to push herself up as her strangled voice got louder. "I have to try again, I have to right now. Warren! I have to try again! Let me up! Please!"

"Kendra, please, calm down!" Warren was pushing against her shoulders, and for a girl who had been comatose not twenty minutes ago, Kendra was putting up a lot of resistance. "What on earth are you going on about! Talk to me!"

"Vanessa!" Kendra tried to yell, but her voice bottomed out and became a hoarse whisper. It sounded like Kendra had gargled with nails for twelve hours. There were tears dripping down her cheeks. "I have to heal Vanessa. It's been hours, she could die, I have to help-"

"Kendra, take a breath for God's sake!" Warren hated to raise his voice but Kendra was scaring him. "Just lay down and let me explain, please."

"Explain what?" Kendra tried to sniffle, but didn't have the breath control. She slumped against the bed bonelessly, breathing deeply. She had worn herself out utterly. For a second, Warren worried she may slip back into her coma. Her eyelids fluttered spasmodically, tears leaking into her hairline as she lay there.

"You still with me, Kens?" Warren murmured, checking her pulse surreptitiously at her wrist. A beat passed before Kendra whimpered, barely, in assent. "Okay, kiddo. I'm gonna go through what's been happening since you fell asleep, okay? If you need me to stop, squeeze my wrist. Can you do that? Here, squeeze once if you can do that."

Kendra squeezed his wrist.

"Awesome dude, you're doing great. Okay, here we go. You've been in a stress-and-magic-induced coma for almost exactly three days. No, that's not an official medical term. Your body shut down after you _successfully healed_ Vanessa. Hear that? She's tip top, so no more stressing," Warren paused, waiting for a squeeze, but after a minute of nothing he pressed on. "It's Christmas Eve, or, rather, Christmas Day now, but just barely so no worries. Things around here have been...tough. To say the least. The fighting is getting worse between all of us. Between the toxic atmosphere at the high school, the hundreds of infected kids, you and me, and the samples Tanu has been keeping in the Med Room, and you, y'know, coma-ing out on us, the morale around here has never been worse, to be frank. Even Bracken is losing it a bit. Seth ran away tonight at dinner after we all got a little too hot and-"

Warren had to pause from the pain Kendra was inflicting on his wrist. She was squeezing the blood flow to a standstill.

"Yeah, I know, Kens, believe me when I say I'm worried, too. But honestly, the little dude is better out there for now, away from us."

The squeezing let up. Kendra and Warren sat in silence. The noise downstairs had died down as the house fell asleep, and Warren knew he should tell the others Kendra was awake. He knew he should make the call, but for one more moment, he wanted his little cousin all to himself. The whole ordeal had brought back horrible memories that Warren had been suppressing as best he could but now found himself succumbing to.

"Warren?" Kendra whispered, beyond hoarsely. "Are you crying?"

"What? No, I'm not-" Warren reached up to scratch his nose, and found his cheeks damp. Huh. Imagine that.

"Warren?" Kendra's voice was so small and weak. The tears fell harder as Warren finally let the trauma of the situation hit him.

"I'm sorry, Kendra. I'm so sorry," Warren sniffed wetly, but it didn't do much. "Just, seeing you, lying there, day after day. All I've been trying not to think about is the stingbulb. And watching you die. And watching Seth lose himself. And how I let you get yourself into the this, and how all we've been doing is fighting lately, and how sorry I am for that-"

The squeezing had returned.

"C'mon, Warr, now my face is all wet and stuff," Kendra coughed a bit, choked by tears and her own weak lungs. "I don't blame you, I promise. For any of it. I don't, not one bit. So, stop making yourself all sad. And I'm sorry, too, for the fighting. It's not either of our faults, though, so we can't dwell on it, ever. As soon as all this is over, let's go to Disney World or something. Make happy memories, eat churros, see a princess, the whole nine yards."

"When the hell did you get so strong, Kendra?" Warren's smile was wobbly and wet, but real. Kendra returned it as best she could.

"When you taught me how to be, Warren."

* * *

Warren and Kendra had spent almost the whole night talking. Kendra had asked Warren to let the others sleep for now, they could let them know in the morning and Warren had agreed, not willing to leave her side anyway. He laid next to her, holding her close to him as they talked, and talked, and talked. Warren couldn't get enough of hearing Kendra's sweet voice. He had been so sure he would never hear it again that he was content with just listening to her talk for hours on end.

"Aren't you tired, Warr?" Kendra asked him, stopping in the middle of her story. A few hours ago he would have given her a resounding yes. But ever since she woke up, Warren felt like he had been the one asleep for days.

"I'm alright, kiddo, don't you worry," Warren said, kissing her head before resting his head on hers. "Go on with what you were saying."

So she did. Although Warren felt wide awake, slowly Kendra and his words became more slurred and mumbled before they fell asleep, cuddled up to each other and peaceful. It was the best sleep Warren had gotten in a long time.

* * *

This was the worst Christmas ever.

Seth picked at his fingernails from his place on the sofa next to Bracken. The unicorn looked downright depressed, sitting there motionless. Seth didn't want to be here, celebrating Christmas without Kendra. It didn't feel like Christmas without her baking cookies. Without waking her up like a little kid saying "Wake up Kendra! It's the most wonderful time of the year! It's Christmas!" It wasn't the same without her singing 'Baby It's Cold Outside' with him goofily, or her tradition of playing 'Silent Night' on the piano while singing a lot more seriously.

She always sounded amazing and Seth secretly looked forward to it every year. Kendra was very shy about singing in front of people so Seth didn't get to hear her that often, one of the reasons he would never tease her about her singing. Firstly because there was nothing to tease her about, and secondly because he was hoping one day she would be less nervous and would sing to him more often.

There would be no performance this year.

"Alright gang, who wants to open the first present?" Grandpa said. He tried to sound excited but it seemed to fall flat. There was a beat of silence where no one answered.

"Wait, where's Warren?" Dale spoke up, glancing about.

Everyone looked around and realized Warren was absent. Dale stood up from his seat on the floor and walked out of the room. Seth heard him calling up the stairs and a few seconds later they heard a muffled reply. Dale walked back in.

"He's coming." Dale said, and sat down again. It was silent once more. The silence was deafening and awkward; the fight from last night hung above all their heads. Seth hated this. He hated the tense atmosphere. It wasn't like them to be like this. It made him want to go up to his room and not come out.

Finally, they heard Warren coming down the stairs. He seemed to pause outside of the living room before he started walking again. Seth figured he was preparing himself to dealing with the awkward tense feeling of the group.

"Hey, all! Merry Christmas!" Warren said brightly as he walked in. Seth frowned. How could Warren be so stupidly happy? It made Seth angry and a little jealous.

"Yeah, Merry whatever Warr, have a seat. We're doing presents, I guess." Dale said, sighing grumpily.

"Well, in that case I would like to go first. Giving, that is, not receiving." Warren said, unaffected by the overall mood. "Seth, your present is kinda unwrapped? I didn't have enough wrapping paper, sorry. But, it's out in the hall let me go get it! Close your eyes...actually all of you close your eyes it's fun that way."

"We're not all going to close our eyes, it's not our present so why should we? Don't be a child, Burgess." Trask argued. Warren pouted.

"Oh come on, it's just fun this way, makes it more interesting. Please?" The rest of the group grumbled and compiled, so Seth followed suit, resisting the urge to peek. He heard Warren walk out to the hall and then start making his way back. "No peeking!" Warren called, sounding just outside the room.

There were a few more footsteps and then, "Okay, open your eyes!"

Seth opened his eyes, and blinked. Then blinked again. Kendra was in Warren's arms... _awake_ and smiling at him. Warren set her down on her feet as the rest of the room took in what they were seeing. She seemed shaky but was able to stand. Everyone seemed paralyzed in their seats. Seth was the first to break the trance as he launched himself off the couch toward his sister.

"Kenny!" Seth yelled, running into Kendra's waiting arms, tears already falling out of his eyes. Kendra stumbled back at the force of his hug but Warren steadied her from behind.

"Y-you're awake!" Seth sobbed. "I've missed you so m-much, please don't ever leave. I swear I'll be so g-good. I won't break the rules- or- or tease you, I won't ever bother you ever ever, I'll do a-anything just please don't put me through this ah-again. _Please_."

"Oh, Seth. Shh, I'm okay, I'm here." Kendra soothed, squeezing him weakly. "It's okay, Seth. Shh, it's okay."

Seth hugged her for a few more moments, bawling and rambling on about how he missed her and begging her to never leave. He couldn't stop crying and Kendra just held him and shushed him, smoothing his hair down and rubbing his back, telling him it's okay and that she was there, like she used to when Seth was much, much younger. Or how their mother used to when Seth had a bad day.

After a few minutes, Seth took a few deep breaths, trying to stop crying and calm down before pulling away. He knew others would want to see her. Sure enough, as soon as Seth moved out of the way, Bracken swept Kendra off her feet, hugging her tightly. Seth saw the prince's shoulders shaking a little, and knew Bracken was probably crying as well.

"I love you so much." Seth heard Bracken whisper to Kendra before he kissed her. Normally, Seth would tease them and be grossed out by the sight but today he was too happy. Seth looked at Warren and smiled before giving him a hug as well. No wonder Warren had been so cheery. Seth felt equally as bright now.

Soon everyone had risen given Kendra a hug, even Mara and Trask. Then they all made her sit in the biggest, comfiest recliner as they saw how shakey she was. Grandma gave her a soft blanket and tucked her in, giving her a kiss on the head and everyone took their original seats, Warren sitting on the floor in front of Kendra. A thought occurred to Seth.

"Hey, Kendra?" Kendra looked at him questioningly. "Do you think you can do 'Silent Night' like always?"

Kendra smiled. "Sure, Seth. If you want me to."

"This is the best Christmas ever!"

* * *

As the morning floated into early afternoon, apologies were said and the deep gashes in trust that seemed to be so prevalent that morning were beginning to heal themselves. By the time they had all sat down in the living room again, ready to start the gift exchange, things were feeling halfway normal again.

"Okay," Warren clapped his hands loudly. "Who's first?"

"I'll go first!" Bracken and Seth yelled at the same time.

"Awesome!" said Warren. "Looks like I'm going first. Glad we all agree!" He turned to the massive pile of gifts under the tree and began extracting all those wrapped in blue paper. He tossed them haphazardly over his shoulder as he yelled names from under the branches.

"Trask! Tanu! Nessa! Elise!-" Warren paused in his violent throwing to stand up with a present in hand, turn, and walk over to Kendra. He placed the gift gently in her lap, smiled, and walked back to the tree to resume his tossing. "-Seth! Bracken! Dale!"

Eventually everyone had caught their presents, and by some miracle nothing had broken. Wrapping paper was shredded and tossed into the middle of the room to make a pile. Soon, everyone was holding gear made of fine Italian leather, dark brown and brand new. There were weapon holsters, compass holsters, jackets, boots, straps, and anything else one could possibly think of.

"These are incredible." Mara murmured, examining the arrow quiver she was given appreciatively.

"This is awesome!" Seth was holding a broadsword holster and swinging it around like the weapon it was made to carry. Everyone else murmured some agreement.

"Thank you, Warren." Tanu clapped the Burgess on the shoulder as he sat back down between the Samoan and Vanessa. Tanu had been given a new potions case, as his was looking worse for wear these days. It looked more like a messenger bag or brief case, so Tanu could now quietly bring his potions to the school in case of emergencies. Warren smiled at his friend and knocked his shoulder as Bracken stood up.

"My gifts are all very different, but with one common factor between them. Give me one moment to hand them out before we open them. It would be best if we all opened together."

He began extracting the silver wrapped gifts from under the tree. There were many, but they were all smaller. Unlike Warren, he walked around and personally handed each friend their gift with care. When he was done he stood back and gestured for everyone to open their gifts. One by one, everyone's eyes widened in awe.

"These earrings-!"

"My goodness, this certainly is a gorgeous bracelet!"

"Woah, sick charm."

Once everyone had opened their gifts they looked back to Bracken, sending there was more to it than just that.

"Now, if everyone would be so kind as to put on or at least touch their gift?"

Everyone did so, and then looked back at him again.

' _Can everyone hear me?'_ Bracken "said". Everyone jumped, startled at hearing the young princes voice in their heads even though his mouth had stayed shut.

"Communicators?" Kendra asked.

"Yes. Once we head back to the school, our phones will be monitored by the faculty and the faculties will be turned off, as per the rules and such. This way, we will all be able to stay in contact in case of an emergency. That being said, anyone who abuses this channel of communication will be kicked off for a period of time. So, as Warren would say, don't be 'that guy'."

There was a beat, and then every gaze swivel led toward Seth. He merely shrugged.

"That's fair." He said.

Bracken chuckled, ruffled Seth's hair as he walked past, and took a seat on the floor next to Kendra. Seth stood next.

"Mine aren't really useful like the others, but I like to think they're fun!"

Seth's gifts ended up being novelty t-shirts for everyone that made little to no sense.

Vanessa's said "Screw Being a Homeschool Mom, I Wanna Be a Vampire". She smirked, fighting laughter, and folded it neatly.

Warren's said "Laundry and Dishes, Hugs and Kisses #MomLife". He laughed loudly, shucked the t-shirt he was currently wearing, and tugged the new one on.

Kendra's said "I'm a Fairy Princess You Can't Tell me What to Do". Kendra grimaced and balled up the pastel pink monstrosity.

Brackens had a unicorn laying on a therapist's chair with the therapist saying "You need to believe in yourself". He tried to frown but soon gave in to giggling.

Trask's read, "F.B.I. Fucking Bullshit Investigation." He laughed very hard at that and promised Seth he'd wear it when he could.

Tanu's shirt said "Will The Real Severus Snape Please Stand Up?" The large potions master giggled at the shirt, smiling at Seth and thanking him.

Elise's was "Ain't No Lie Cuz I'm Bi Bi Bi" on an ombré fade of blue pink and purple. She smiled wide and hugged Seth around the neck.

Mara's read "Let's Get One Thing Straight I'm Not". She snorted as she read it and winked at Seth, folding it carefully.

Seth got his grandparents nice sweaters, sparing them from t-shirt hell. Both were cashmere, hand made, and very soft. Dale was given a flannel that looked normal, but upon closer inspection , it could be seen that all the darker patches contained expletives of some nature. Dale chuckled and promised to wear it on the hard days.

"These were cute, Seth." Tanu said, his eyes crinkling with his smile.

"Yeah, man, I love this shirt!"

"Thanks, _mijo."_

"I'll definitely be wearing this around school."

Seth smiled and sat down, clearly very pleased his gag gifts were a hit. One by one the others stood up and presented their gifts to the group.

Tanu has given everyone a basic emergency kit of potions, with vials containing the gaseous state potion, a luck potion, a sleep potion, a bravery potion, a calming potion, and a smoke bomb concoction meant to be thrown. He also promised everyone would get a mug of his legendary hot chocolate at the end of the night.

Vanessa gifted everyone brand new, personalized weaponry to match the new gear from Warren. Kendra got new throwing knives with incredibly detailed geometric designs in the metal. Seth, Trask, and Warren got new broad and long swords. Mara received a gorgeous set of arrows, cedar shafts, harpy feather fletching, and adamant heads. Bracken was given both a new sword and a compass, the latter engraved to say: "For Bracken. A Friend." When Bracken tried to thank her for the gift, she brushed off his comments and played dumb about any engraving. In lieu of a weapon, Tanu was given a set of rare ingredients Vanessa had extracted from her various pets.

"Is this Mongolian Slip-Snake venom?"

"Depends who's asking."

"Hell yeah, Santoro!"

Elise and Mara's gifts were more abstract, but heartily appreciated. Elise had been walking around for months now with her sketchbook, seemingly practicing quietly in any room others were in, observing. In actuality, she now told them, she had been sketching her friends in candid moments, and handed out the finalized artwork as her gift. Some were drawn from memory, some from observation.

Warren was given a portrait of him, Kendra, and Seth playing Sorry! in the living room. They all wore varying degrees of frustration and amusement. He laughed and promised to frame it, even though he had lost that game horribly and he claimed to still be angry. Kendra received a sketch of her and Bracken enjoying the fall leaves on the back porch. Tanu's sketch was of he and Seth enjoying a game of chess. Stan and Ruth received a pastel sketch of themselves listening to the gramophone in the study before a meeting. Trask's was of him and Mara sparring in the yard. Vanessa's smile was genuine and large when she received a detailed colored pencil sketch of herself, Warren, and Kendra asleep on the couch; Kendra was sprawled across both the adults' laps, and Vanessa was leaning over her toward Warren, whose one arm was thrown across the couch and Vanessa, the other holding Kendra in place. And Bracken was gifted a painting of one of the more candid pictures taken of him and Kendra on the night of the Christmas gala. She was adjusting his tie and he was reaching up to touch her hair. They were both smiling hard enough to make crow's feet appear around their eyes. And Mara's was of herself and Elise holding hands, strolling down and autumn pathway. The Hopi woman blushed and thanked Elise softly. The Korean woman smiled at her partner and sat back down between her and Trask.

Mara stood next and delivered a short speech about her gift; she, Trask, and Dale would be donating a fully operational and brand new training area to the preserve. She explained her goal of a sand pit for hand-to-hand and weapons training, a small track, a gymnastics area, and whatever else came to mind as they built. Stan stood and thanked them profusely, giving his full blessing to the project. The other knights looked thrilled with the notion, as they were more than likely staying at Fablehaven for the foreseeable future.

Dale stood and added onto Mara's gift, declaring he had plans to begin building another house on the preserve for guest or emergency purposes. They all fit comfortably now, but any more knights of visitors would be a problem. He winked at Stan, who nodded his agreement, and sat back down.

Kendra attempted to stand up to give out her gifts next but was met with an army of resistance.

"Just where do you think you're going young lady!"

" _¡Aye mija_ sit down!"

"Nope nope nope nope sit."

"Please, love, I've got it, really!"

"Jeez, Kendra, sit down! You're gonna break something!"

Kendra huffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm a little weak, guys, I'm not made of glass."

"Still, Kendra," Ruth said. "It's better to just take it easy for now. If not for your sake, then for all our ours."

"Okay, Grandma," Kendra smiled. "Just for you guys, though."

Bracken and Seth stood up and began handing out Kendra's gifts as she spoke.

"So, mine don't really have a theme, I guess, like everyone else's. Sorry about that."

"Shut up Kendra I'm going to love it." Warren said, already ripping into his. He extracted a large picture frame made of deep brown mahogany, speckled with silver flowers along the frame. The frame surrounded a collage of pictures of himself with various members of the family; Kendra, Seth, Bracken, Dale, Vanessa, and Tanu were all present in many of the photos in turn, with each other, with Warren, or alone. The center of the collage was the snapshot of him and Kendra from her phone. Kendra mimed flipping it over and he did. The back was engraved with the famous "Ohana means family…" quote from Lilo and Stitch, Kendra's favorite movie. Warren looked up from his gift with tears in his eyes.

"You're really gonna make cry for, like, the third time today, huh," Warren pinched the tears out of his eyes, futile trying to stem the flow.

"It's kind of been my thing lately," Kendra laughed, also a little tearfully. "Do you like it?"

"I'd give you the most crushing hug right now if I didn't think it would kill you."

"That's very thoughtful, thank you."

Seth opened his gift next, and his jaw dropped.

"Is this that skateboard I saw four years ago at that mom and pop shop in Cape May?"

"Maybe."

"This just earned you, like, all the awesome dollars."

"I'm sure it'll pay for itself in idiot points. Merry Christmas, Seth."

Bracken laughed as he pulled out a unicorn headband and unicorn face mask, and then sobered as he pulled out a handmade fairy statue.

"I saw it in storefront in town the other day, and it made me think of you. I remember you mentioned being homesick for the little fairy statues in your mother's garden and study, so I hope this helps." Kendra tried not to blush. Vanessa and Elise's matching smirks told her she was failing.

"Thank you, love," Bracken grinned. "It's gorgeous. And I love it."

Trask was given a new pair of sunglasses, as he had recently broken his nicest prescription pair doing yard work with Dale. He put them on, and laughed in delight to find them a perfect match in strength to his old pair.

"I don't know how you do it, fairy princess, but you got some kind of gift giving magic." He smiled.

Vanessa was gifted a "new" leather jacket. Her personal favorite, and oldest leather jacket had begun falling and peeling apart. So Kendra had Warren help her get the jacket out of the house and to a leather restoration shop. The jacket was good as new, yet still completely broken in.

"Absolutely incredible," Vanessa murmured, turning the midnight black jacket this way and that, inspecting every stitch and fold. "I have no idea how to thank you for this, Kendra."

"Let me drive the Maserati?"

"You know what, for this, I'll consider it." Vanessa laughed.

Mara opened a small box to find hand crafted, long metal earrings. They were stamped to look like wings, and were topped with four beads each in red yellow black and white. She began to tear up, and pressed her fingers to her mouth.

"Are they okay?" Kendra asked worriedly. "I searched all over the internet and researched all I could. If they're not-"

"Hush, Kendra," Mara chuckled in her deep voice, wiping her eyes. "They're gorgeous. I love them more than I know how to say. My mother had a pair just like these. I've always wanted something similar but could never find one close enough. How extraordinary to receive such a gift from such a kind soul."

Kendra smiled softly and nodded, grateful for the acceptance of her gift. Tanu opened his next, a book.

"My goodness, Kendra, where did you find this!" Tanu looked about ready to jump up and start dancing. Kendra giggled.

"Agad helped me."

"Well thank him, too."

"What is it, man?" Warren asked, confused. "A Gutenberg bible? The secret to success and a good hairline past 40? Share it with Dale if it's that second one."

"You're scooping the horse manure tomorrow, Warren."

"That's fair."

"It's a very ancient, very rare, potions book," Tanu looked like he was physically restraining himself from yelling. "Only about 10 were ever made because they were made before the printing press. They're every potion master's dream guide. Kendra, I have no idea how to thank you for this. My gratitude goes beyond words."

"You more than deserve it, Tanu. With all you've done for us, the lives you've saved, including mine, and Warren's, which is like Double Jeopardy these days-"

"Hey!"

"-the least I can do is give you an old textbook. However, I will accept an extra cup of hot coco as thanks."

"You got it, Kens." Tanu's laugh was contagious, and soon the whole room was chuckling.

Elise opened her gift last, a set of charcoals and pencils and very thick paper that seemed to shimmer at certain angles. She smiled as she looked up at Kendra.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"The tools and paper are enchanted, by Bracken and Agad. Whatever you draw will move in a loop, like a gif. Or a Harry Potter portrait, if you're into that."

"Wicked." Elise smiled and picked up a charcoal to examine it. "It goes without saying that I am beyond excited and grateful for this, but to express that, I think you'll be my first moving portrait, manic fairy dream girl."

"I can abide by that." Kendra laughed.

As everyone began shuffling their gifts around, Stan and Ruth stood up.

"And last but not least, our gifts to all of you this Christmas," Stan said. "We decided to go a more traditional route than weaponry and telepathic communication, and decided on these for you all."

As he spoke, Ruth began handing out identical boxes to each person present. They were all bit bigger than palm sized, perfect cubes wrapped in candy cane paper. Once her husband finished speaking, Ruth gestured for everyone to open their gifts.

"Yay boxes!" Warren cheered sarcastically. He had torn through the paper to the unassuming brown box underneath.

"Open the box, dummy." Dale muttered.

"What! No way, they open?" Warren seemed to be having far more fun toying with his brother. Nonetheless, he popped the lid on the thin brown box open, and began haphazardly shaking the cube of styrofoam packing out.

"Warren," Vanessa sighed. "Doesn't the styrofoam imply, y'know, handle with care."

"Well, that's why there's styrofoam. It's Burgess-proof."

Vanessa snorted and opened her mouth to fire off some sassy reply, but the words died in her throat as she pries apart her own cube of styrofoam to reveal the present inside. Several of the others were equally speechless and they stared at the contents of the gift box.

Each present contained a beautiful glass bauble tree ornament. The glass seemed to be thinner than paper, and lighter than air, cleared than the sky, yet was webbed with delicate crackles of frost. The top of each was a different shade of red. Inside each was a unique winter setting. Each person's name was iced delicately into the ornament, and seemed to hover frozen in time both behind the glass walls, yet not in the diorama either.

"Stan, Ruth-" Tanu attempted to speak, but clearly found himself a bit too choked up. The others were in similar states, either transfixed by the detail in the ornament, or choked with emotion.

"We've all been through so much together over the past four years," Stan said. "That we felt it was far past time to show you all just how much we appreciate it. Wherever life takes you after our adventures, you will always be family to us. Merry Christmas, all of you."

"How on earth did you make these?" Vanessa asked, trying to discreetly dab her eyes.

"The brownies," Ruth smiled. "We left vague instructions and some supplies, but they took it from there."

"They're more beautiful than I have words for." Bracken murmured, eyeing the scene in his ornament with wonder.

"Can we put them on the tree?" Kendra asked hopefully.

"Well, they are ornaments." Stan chuckled. Kendra smiled, and took Bracken's offered arm to help herself up. A moment later the tree was filled with the gorgeous ornaments, and everyone stepped back to admire the sight.

"Well," Seth said after about half a minute. "This is beautiful and all, but I'm starved from the stress and joy of the holiday season. Is it pancake time now?"

"It's pancake time, alright!" Warren clapped his hands together and turned towards his younger cousins. Before anyone could really move, Warren had tossed Kendra and Seth over his shoulders in a fireman's carry and began making his way towards the kitchen. The rest of the family chuckled and followed them.

* * *

Kendra looked up from organizing her gifts when she heard the knock on her door.

"Come in!"

The old wood creaked open to reveal Seth, shuffling his feet a bit nervously and holding his hands behind his back.

"Hey, Kens, you got a minute?"

"Of course, Seth. What's up?" Kendra said. Her brother walked fully into the room and nudged the door shut behind himself. He plopped down on the bed next to her, and pulled out a wrapped gift from under the back of his shirt.

"I got you something else besides the awesome t-shirt." Seth mumbled. Kendra smiled, surprised.

"What a coincidence. I got you something besides the skateboard."

"What! Kendra you didn't have to!" Seth looked shocked.

"Neither did you." Kendra shrugged. She pulled a sizeable box out from underneath her bed and flopped onto the bed next to Seth. She handed him the box, and took the gift he offered her. She began ripping the paper delicately, while Seth tore his violently.

"No way," Seth gasped. "There's no way you really got me a Destroyer pack. Kendra, these things are insane!"

"Well, so are you!" Kendra rolled her eyes fondly and smiled. "And this will hold all the stuff you could ever possibly need to keep yourself from dying from self-inflicted insanity."

"I really don't have a big enough vocabulary to thank you for this." Seth was still staring, gobsmacked, at the military style pack that put his old emergency kit to shame. Kendra laughed a little under her breath, and finished tearing open her gift.

"Thanks, Seth, I think." Kendra was a little confused about her gift; an opalescent white journal with a leather buckle and a couple of strange looking, equally opalescent pens.

"Right, so, let me explain," Seth gently put his new backpack down, which was ironic considering it was built to withstand explosions. "I have a matching one in black. Whatever we write in our journal will show up in the others, and only we can see the writing. Like the journal from Harry Potter, or like an enchanted Google doc. Bracken helped me out with some of the magic, but I did most of it on my own. It was my first, uh, real shadow charming project."

He sounded sheepish by the end of the little speech, but Kendra was severely impressed.

"You enchanted these yourself? Seth this is amazing! You're really talented with this magic stuff."

"Eh, kinda sorta. The first few tries caught fire. I think the book store employees were really confused when I kept going back to buy the same journal in bulk,"

Kendra giggled and Seth smiled at the sound.

"Anyway, this has been way too emotional for a wayward teen like me. I'm heading to bed to sleep off all the food we ate. You have the medicine Tanu made?"

"Yes, mom."

"Ouch, Kens. Words hurt."

Kendra smiled, and stood up with Seth. The two hugged each other close, briefly, reveling in the fact that the other was standing there, alive, after all the past few days had put them through.

"Merry Christmas, Seth."

"Merry Christmas, Kendra."

* * *

"One mulled cider for the lady." Warren handed Vanessa a mug where she sat in front of the fire in the living room. Everyone else had gone to bed, save for Bracken who was milling about outside, watching the snowfall.

"Thanks, Warren." Vanessa smiled as she wrapped her hands around the warm drink. Warren smiled back briefly before sitting down next to her, wincing as several joints popped, cracked, or creaked. He heard his friend trying to stifle laughter.

"Got something to say, Santoro?" Warren challenged.

"You sound worse than Stan."

"Has Stan ever jumped off a cliff or wrestled a Minotaur or shoveled a patch of dirt till his hands bled?" Hm?" Warren was struggling to hide his smile.

"No, that's probably why he's 68 and not dead." Vanessa laughed.

"Fair enough." He chuckled. The two slipped back into a comfortable silence, sipping their drinks and watching the flames dance over the logs in the fireplace. Warren took a moment to subtlety study the blix seated next to him. She was barefaced, wearing plain clothes, her hair down and unstyled. He marveled at how comfortable she had become around him, and he around her.

"Hey," Vanessa didn't move her eyes from the fire as she spoke. "The quote on the collage Kendra got you. I know it's from that Disney movie you made us all watch-"

"I know you loved that movie, you can't fool me Nessa. I know you better than you think."

"Hush. But is there a greater significance? It seemed to be deeper than just a cookie cutter Disney quote she slapped on."

"Your perception never ceases to amaze me." The utter adoration in Warren's gaze made Vanessa blush harder than she could blame on the heat from the fire.

"So I'm right?"

"Yes. Very right," Warren took another sip of his cider and seemed to be organizing his thoughts. A moment later, he spoke. "You know about the knapsack fiasco, yeah?"

"Three months you were trapped, right?"

"Give or take a week, yeah." Warren's demeanor was no longer particularly festive. He seemed more withdrawn, and was staring off intently. Vanessa swallowed hard and moved closer to him, resting her head on her shoulder. The contact seemed to snap him out of his stupor, and he wrapped an arm around Vanessa, drawing her closer.

"Anyway, it was pretty hopeless from where I was standing. So, imagine my shock when my baby cousin busts my ass out of inter-dimensional Yahtzee prison. And because I was in such a, ah, rough place, mentally, I said something like 'I thought you guys forgot about me.' And Kendra hit me with that freaking Ohana quote from her favorite Disney movie. So, it's kind of a thing for us now."

Warren hadn't really noticed the stray tear drops on his face, but before he could reach up to wipe them, Vanessa was already tenderly brushing them away.

"That little girl is something special." Vanessa murmured, knowing her words didn't do Kendra a fraction of the justice she deserved for all her deeds, but knowing Warren understood the emotion she put behind the words.

"Well, she does have some pretty bad-ass role models." Warren smirked down at her.

"Yeah, Tanu and Dale rock."

"Nessa!"

They both laughed, enjoying the moment of relaxed intimacy. Neither knew when they'd get another.

"Ugh," Vanessa flopped backwards onto the carpeting after a beat, slipping out of Warren's grasp. "I don't wanna go back to school and teach snotty little brats."

"Don't like kids?" Warren tried to ask casually.

"The ones I know, sure. Kendra, Seth, and horseface are all great. The ones in my family are usually okay. My own I would love. But teaching a bunch of strangers' little brats the finer points of molecular biology was never exactly on my To Do list. Not to mention our dear friend Romeo."

"Hate that guy. You should break his nose."

"After this year is over I might."

"Hell yeah, babe. Dismantle the patriarchy."

Vanessa chuckled and pulled herself up off the floor. She drained the last of the cider in her mug and placed the cup on the marble of the fireplace sill. She and Warren had lapsed back into silence, but this pause seemed more charged, more tense than the last. Vanessa hazarded a glance at Warren to find him staring intently at her.

"Hey, Nessa?" He seemed to be bracing himself to say something.

"Yes, Warr?" Vanessa turned toward Warren and tried not to let on how nervous she was. She failed.

"I have to say something. And there's really no delicate way to say it so I'm just gonna, um, vomit some words."

"Okay, Warren." She nodded. He took a deep breath, angled himself to face her fully, and took both of her hands in both of his. His gaze bore into hers, unwavering, and Vanessa found she couldn't look away.

"I am in love with you. I have been for the past year, and every day I spend with you it just gets stronger. I know you said you weren't ready for a relationship yet, and I'm not expecting anything from this conversation. But I almost lost you a couple days ago. And my world tilted on its axis. So I don't want either of us to live another day not knowing all there is to know. I don't want to leave words unsaid, and emotions un-expressed. Because life is short. And I want you to share mine for as long as possible. My life is brighter with you in it."

Warren looked down, bracing himself for a rejection he was almost certain was coming his way.

"I love you, too, Warren."

His head snapped up so fast he was positive he had whiplash.

"What?"

Vanessa's eyes were shining. "I know it took me a long time to get here, to be able to say those words, and know I meant them. But the fact that you stayed? That you were patient? Says more to be than any words or gift ever could. I love you so much, Warren. Your bravery, your humor, your honesty. All of it. All of you. _Te amo mucho,_ Warren."

He smiled at her, shaky but so, so happy. Warren tugged her closer and wrapped her in a tight bear hug. Vanessa breathed in deeply, reveling in the feeling of happiness and content she had been chasing for so long.

"So are we like, boyfriend and girlfriend now?" Warren asked in an highly-affected Valley Girl accent. Vanessa giggled.

"Sure, Warren. We can be boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Good, then I can finally give you this." Warren released her and leaned back, reaching under the tree. He righted himself a second later, flat box in hand. "Had it for a little while. I know you're into more alternative jewelry, so I did some hunting and, well, I hope you like it."

Vanessa made short work of the paper and gently lifted the lid on the flat jewelry box. Nestled inside was an elegant hand chain. Long ropes of black diamond encrusted chain link studded with garnet were attached to rings and a bracelet that seemed to be fashioned out of burned steel. There was a matching ear chain in the box as well. Vanessa's jaw was on the proverbial floor.

"Warren, I- this is- how did you-" Vanessa looked up at him, a few tears finally slipping free. Warren scratched the back of his head

"So, you like it?" He smiled hopefully. Vanessa let the lid of the box snap shut as she placed it gently on the ground. She grabbed Warren by the collar and hauled him in for a gentle yet searing kiss. When they broke apart, she murmured against his lips.

"I love it, almost as much as I love you."

* * *

When Bracken finally exited the bathroom after taking his regular scalding hot shower, he was surprised to see Kendra laying on his bed waiting for him. He chuckled at her teasing whistle as he was still shirtless, only having thrown on a pair of sweatpants.

"Damn, hottie. You got a girlfriend?" Kendra said, unabashedly looking him up and down. Bracken's chuckling turned to a laugh at that, and deciding to play along, he nodded.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do have a girlfriend. I love her very much, so, I apologize." He said, tossing Kendra a teasing smile as he discarded a wet towel into the hamper.

"Well, your girlfriend, whoever she is, must be luckiest person in the world. I'm sure she feels that way at least." Kendra's eyes met his and Bracken felt his heart stutter at the sight of her bright green boring into his soul. He had missed those eyes so much over the past few days. After three days of pure stress and borderline mourning, Bracken was over the moon Kendra was finally awake and okay.

"You have it backwards, actually." Bracken said, walking over to the bed. Kendra tilted her head to the side in question. "I'm the one that feels like the luckiest person in the world. You see, my girlfriend shines like the sun and has the most beautiful, and kindest soul I ever had the fortune to meet. She is gorgeous, wonderful, and the love of my life."

Bracken had now climbed up on the bed with Kendra and was leaning over her where she laid, looking up at him with those big sparkling eyes. Kendra smiled, her hands reached up to cup Bracken's face before pulling him down to kiss him.

Bracken could feel his girlfriend smiling against his mouth as their lips moved together languidly. He let his teeth graze her lower lip once, twice, and felt her nip back once, lightly. Before the kiss could get heated, though, Bracken broke the connection and drew back, panting a bit. He stared down into Kendra's green eyes as she ran her thumb back and forth over his cheekbone.

"I love you so much, Bracken."

"I love you more, my princess." Bracken whispered, kissing her nose quickly then pulling away fully and standing.

"Noooo, where are you going?" Kendra whined, making grabby hands at him and pouting.

"Stay there, I need to get something." Bracken said, resisting the urge to go back over and kiss her cute pout off her lips

He walked over to his desk and pulled a wrapped box out of the drawer. He then turned back to his waiting girlfriend, nerves forming a knot in his stomach.

"For me?" Kendra sat up against the headboard. "Seth and I just exchanged bonus gifts, too. This must be my lucky night." She giggled and Bracken smiled, he loved the sound of her laugh. He sat down in front of her on the bed, handing her the gift. She tore into it eagerly, comfortable enough around Bracken to allow herself a moment of childishness. He laughed at her excitement, her joy contagious.

Kendra's exuberance fell away to shock as the lid of the gift fell away, revealing a roughly hewn but delicately set necklace made of a diamond chain and a natural pearl set into a diamond frame. It was the most divine necklace Kendra had ever seen, and it radiated light magic.

"Bracken," Kendra breathed. "Is this-"

"My first horn, yes." Bracken smiled at her tenderly.

"Bracken, I can't accept this, oh my-" before Kendra could protest any further, Bracken gently placed a finger over her lips.

"Please, hear me out?" Bracken waited for her nod of approval before moving to take the necklace out of the box and clasp it around her neck. It draped perfectly along her collarbone like it was made for her to wear. Kendra touched it gently, and startled when Bracken's voice suddenly filled her head.

" _You look radiant, my love."_

" _Thank you, Bracken. Is this another communicator or something?"_

" _Not quite. It's just the magic of the horn, really."_

" _Bracken, really, this is too much! I cant accept your first horn. You need this, don't you?"_

" _No, I only need my second."_ He saw the uncertainty and hesitation in her eyes, and laid a hand across hers. " _Please, Kendra, accepting this gift would mean the world to me. It ties us closer, and will help me to know you're safe, help me keep you safe. It's a symbol of my love for you. A promise, to always be there for you, and support you, even if I can't physically be there. And I-"_

Whatever else Bracken was going to say was cut off by the kiss Kendra gave him. It was warm and pure and passionate, and everything she was, and Bracken melted into it. Her love felt like home. When they pulled apart, Bracken could see the veil of tears in Kendra's eyes, and knew from her surprised expression she could see the wetness in his own gaze. He blinked, disturbing the tears, and a few slid down his cheeks. Kendra brushed them away softly, sniffling herself. They chuckled wetly, and shared one more kiss before lying down on the bed.

Bracken pulled Kendra into his arms, and she curled into his chest, sighed blissfully. The pendant of the necklace seemed to warm her core and heart, and idly she wondered if it reflected Bracken's emotions. It was thoughts similar to these that preoccupied Kendra's mind as she slipped away into sleep, at least feeling at peace.

* * *

 **Whew! So much happening! Would absolutely LOVE feedback on what everyone thought of the presents, the characters, where you think it's going, all that. And I hope you enjoyed the break, because next chapter we are back to school!**


	15. A Day Most Fowl

**Sorry for the wait for the return to action! There will be a brief hiatus following this chapter; we're heading for the home stretch and we want to make sure it's perfect (or as perfect as possible). Enjoy!**

* * *

Kendra sighed as she let her locker door slam shut. After the long break for the holidays and all that had happened during it, she felt more trapped than ever being just another student again. On the brighter side, though, she had winter cheer practice after school, something she had been looking forward to since the end of the previous season.

"Excited for practice?" Bracken's smooth accent was suddenly in her ear, and she turned to see him fiddling with his own locker.

"Very, yes," she smiled. "How about you? Ready to try fencing?"

"I've been fencing since before the French ever got their hands on the art and made it all-," he paused to wiggle his fingers in the air for emphasis. "-Hoity-toity."

"Says you, dude," Seth had walked up to join the conversation, books for the day in hand. "You're, like, the prince of all that is Hoity and Toity. Just look at your uniform."

"What's wrong with my uniform?" Bracken asked, irritated. He gave himself a fast once over.

"It looks like you ran it through a panini press this morning, it's so crisp."

"Listen, just because you like to be a slob-"

"Boys, enough!" Kendra stepped between the brewing argument. "Seth, let Br- Adrian have his nice clothes and posh attitude. Adrien, let Seth be...Seth. There's no fixing it, I've tried."

"Hey!" Seth was indignant. Before anyone could say anything else, the first period bell rang.

"See you guys after basketball!"

"We have gym today!"

"Maybe you do, I'm skipping."

" _Seth!_ "

"Bye Adalyn!"

The three split up, Kendra/Adalyn heading for Warren's double history block, Bracken heading for Poli-Sci and Calculus, and Seth going to Spanish and Forensics. Seth walked down the stairs and out the door, across the courtyard, and into the language building. It was one of the older structures, so the rooms and halls were smaller and the paint was peeling, but the building was still nicer than any of Seth's old schools.

He plopped into his seat in the back row of his Spanish class, slumped and pulling out his ear buds. He figured whatever he missed he could pester Vanessa into helping him out with. Or google. He pulled out a binder anyway to doodle in and look like he was working. As the rest of the class trickled in, Seth finally noticed that Romeo, usually already in the room and writing on the board when they walked in, was nowhere to be found. Seth sat up a little straighter, and began tugging his communication charm out from beneath his hoodie. He began worrying little dragon on its leather cord between his fingers.

Just as he was about to let the group know, Romeo walked in, looking sickly pale and exhausted. Seth was immediately on edge; he had seen too many of his loved ones looking that sick to be unaware of the implications.

" _Lo siento,_ kids. I'm afraid the holiday break was unkind to me. I seem to have come down with a rather nasty virus, or infection, or something."

Many of the students shifted uneasily, looking pointedly at each other and the empty seats of their friends who had come down with "something" and had yet to recover. Romeo noticed this and leapt to reassure them.

"Not to worry though, kids!" He said, forcing cheer into this demeanor. "I'm on some antibiotics and a very hearty soup diet to nip this thing in the bud. I probably just picked up something nasty while I was in Argentina for Christmas, it's all good." He clapped his hands together, and Seth was briefly reminded of Warren's go-to nervous tick during tense moments. "Now, who's ready to learn the past imperfect tense! Woo-hoo!"

The class groaned and laughed, seemingly pacified, but Seth quickly grabbed his dragon charm and sent a brief message to the group.

' _Guys, Romeo is infected. He says he picked something up in Argentina over break, but he's definitely got the evil-plague-infection-thing. He's pale as hell, and he's got the sweats, and he looks thin, and his eyes have that weird empty thing going on.'_

There was radio silence for a minute, though Seth could feel the others we're tapped into the channel. Finally, Tanu spoke.

' _It's safe to assume, then, that the perpetrator has moved onto infecting the faculty.'_

' _So?'_ Seth was confused about how that was any worse than the students.

' _It means they're trying to get to Stan, and that they most likely know he's the head of the Knights,'_ Warren's voice was heavy with worry. ' _We're running out of time.'_

BREAK

"And that's why I will never, ever, eat astronaut ice cream."

"Mr. Burgess?"

"Yes, my child?"

"Is that gonna be on the test?"

"...you know what, Timmy-"

"Tony."

"It wasn't. But now that you've mentioned it, it is."

The class groaned, and Kendra chuckled into her hand. Warren bulldozed on, yelling and gesturing wildly about the Cold War. Kendra let herself drift out for a moment; the Cold War was one of Warren's favorite topics of interest and he spoke about it frequently. Warren was a master strategist when it came to mission plans for the Knights, so it made sense that a war that involved no actual fighting and was acted out entirely in strategic moves was one of the man's favorite eras.

"Adalyn!"

Kendra idly came back to attention, waiting for her classmate to answer. As the silence stretched on, though, Kendra became acutely aware of all the eyes in the room on her. _Oh damn,_ she thought _. I'm Adalyn._

"Yes, sorry, what's up, uh, I mean, can you repeat the question, Mr. Burgess?" Kendra stammered out, her cheeks flushing. Warren looked far too amused for his own good.

"Can you briefly tell me what the difference in goals was between the states and the Soviet Union after World War II?"

"Uh, yes, they," Kendra racked her brain, knowing that she knew this and trying to figure out the briefest way to say it. "After the war, the U.S. wanted to rebuild its economy, and the U.S.S.R. wanted to spread communism across the world."

"Excellent! And how did this affect their status as allies?"

"Well, they didn't share the same beliefs, and they both wanted to spread their respective ideals, communism and capitalism, and so they became enemies."

"Nice, Adalyn! Glad to see you were paying attention. Now, these tense relations between the two superpowers…" Warren droned on for another 15 minutes until the bell finally rang. Kendra packed her stuff into her bag, but hung back as the last students left the room.

"Warren," Kendra strode across the room to her cousin's desk, behind which he was filing away some papers into a cabinet. "About what Seth said-"

"I know, Ken," Warren sighed. "It really isn't looking good. The other adults and I are going to do some snooping today after classes while we wait for sports to let out. We'll go from there."

"I don't like this." She sighed, fiddling with her necklace.

"Me neither. Hey, how are you feeling being back and all?"

"I feel great actually." Kendra smiled up at him. Christmas Day and the rest of the week spent with her family had been a healing experience for all. The combined light magic of a unicorn and fairykind being, along with the natural magic of the holiday season, as Bracken had called it, had done wonders for everyone's spirits and Warren, Kendra, and Vanessa's health. Vanessa was nearly fully recovered, and Warren and Kendra didn't feel quite so run down anymore. "I feel anxious about all this, but I'm ready for whatever's coming at us next."

"That's the spirit kid!" Warren smiled. "Now, you better get your butt down the hall before Nessa gives you a demerit."

"Sure thing," Kendra said, walking toward the door. "I'll be sure to tell your girlfriend you say hi."

"Ignoring that!"

* * *

"Adalyn, Adrien, see me after class." Vanessa set down their lab work with a neutral look, and the rest of the class made the compulsory "Ooooohhhhhh" sound as she walked out of the lab area. Kendra and Bracken exchanged a glance, Bracken clearly a bit more nervous, but did as they were told. As the rest of the class packed up to leave, they hung back, taking their time with the cleaning and replacing of the instruments. After the last student left, Vanessa closed the heavy door and crossed over to them.

"So," she hoisted herself up to sit on one of the lab tables. "Has Warren gone over the plan with you two?"

"Wait there's a plan-plan?" Kendra asked. "Plans never seem to be our style. We make them, ignore them, panic, and then just kind of wing it."

"Okay, so we're on phase one." Vanessa chuckled, reaching up to undo and redo her pony tail. Her hand chain flashed in the fluorescent light.

"So, is there a more elaborate plan than snooping?" Bracken asked. Kendra had filled him in during the lab.

"Sort of, kind of." Vanessa wiggled her hand back and forth. The chain jingled.

"You're going out of your way to show that off." Kendra smirked.

"Correct," Vanessa leaned back on her hands. "We're going to be checking out the cafeteria and surrounding ventilation as best as we can. Tanu and I are pretty certain this sickness is either coming from the food, or is airborne. If it's the latter, we're in for a much harder time beating this."

"Do you guys know what it really is yet?" Bracken sounded weary. Kendra knew her boyfriend was reaching the end of his patience with the mission as a whole. He despised American schooling, and no matter what, people kept falling ill.

"Yes, we're 85% sure it's a fungus, or something similar."

"So it's not like, magical plague crystal meth cooked up in some evil lab?" Kendra

"Crystal meth, no. Evil lab, most likely." Vanessa said. She sighed, slumping a bit, and Kendra noticed how tired she actually look, and that was with her makeup done.

"You and Tanu didn't sleep much this last week, Van." Kendra murmured, reaching out to touch the other woman's hand in sympathy. "How are you holding up?"

"Well enough, I suppose."

"Do you need more coffee? I can probably smuggle you some from the teacher's lounge?" Bracken asked, concerned for his now-definitely-a-friend. Vanessa smiled a bit at the offer.

"No, thanks, Bracken. I'll make it through the day. But I'm dragging myself to Starbucks after this. What about you two? How are you?"

"Hanging in there. Ready to end this. Tired." Kendra yawned as if to prove her point. Bracken nodded along.

"Then let's rally for the day and see how we do. Now _vamos,_ it's time for third period."

BREAK

"Okay so, to recap," Seth chugged half a carton of chocolate milk, the spoke again. "The bad stuff is probably a fungus thing, the geriatrics are going on a witch hunt this afternoon, and everyone is completely exhausted."

"Yep, that sums it up nicely." Bracken said, spearing a tomato with his fork.

"Awesome." Seth inhaled four chicken nuggets and the rest of the chocolate milk. "Are you guys doing that blood drive thing next week?"

"Yeah sure," Kendra said, not really paying attention. She was looking anxiously around the courtyard. "Where's the, ah, faculty?"

No sooner had she spoken than did the adults of the family arrive, meandering over to their usual table underneath a cherry blossom tree. Kendra fought back a chuckle as Mara cleared the table of petals more violently than normal. Patience was not a common emotion these days.

"It's so weird not eating with them," Seth muttered. "Also why do they always have better food, we all literally share the same kitchen?"

"They can cook." Kendra rolled her eyes.

"Oh right."

They turned back to their lunches but none of them had moved to eat before the door to the courtyard from the cafeteria slammed open, hitting the brick with a bang. Kendra looked up to behold one incredibly angry Brittany Favre, and let her fork fall back into the container. She had a feeling she was done eating.

* * *

The adults were having a peaceful lunch for all of two minutes before Brittany threw open the courtyard doors like the gates of Zzyzx.

"Well, I guess that's that." Trask sighed, pausing in eating his tuna salad sandwich.

"I'm so glad I brought popcorn in today." Elise ripped open the bag of Smartpop in her hand and began munching. Mara sighed heavily through her nostrils and let her wrap fall back into its foil.

"I wish I had gone to Chipotle." Tanu muttered.

"Why do you hate yourself?" Vanessa muttered back. Warren shushed them before an argument could erupt. All the eyes at their faculty table turned to Brittany, now standing over Kendra's table.

"How _dare_ you, Adalyn?" Brittany screeched. "How could you even dare?"

"Oh my god," Warren dropped his head into his hands to hide his laughter. "This chick walked right out of The Real Housewives or something."

"How could I dare to what, exactly?" Kendra sounded bored, but everyone began exchanging uneasy glances. Kendra was in fact not bored, but waiting, and biding time, for the the fight they all knew was coming.

"Be prepared to intervene if this gets physical." Mara muttered to the rest of them. They nodded.

"You're a flyer! Again!" Brittany looked rabid. At this point the entire courtyard of about thirty students was now watching. "What? Was one season being a lazy-ass spotlight hogging bitch not enough for you? You're gonna make us throw your fat ass again because you just can't get enough of the attention?"

"I know that little _mierda_ didn't just talk to our _mija_ like that." Vanessa was halfway to standing before Tanu and Warren pulled her back down.

"Screw this!" Elise whisper-yelled, spewing wet popcorn all over Trask. To his credit, the man didn't even blink. "Ke-Adalyn has my utter blessing to rearrange this girl's Picasso-ass looking face into a Dali landscape."

"Kendra is a peaceful girl at heart," Tanu spoke lowly. "She will make the mature choice."

" _Can everyone shut up I wanna hear this._ " Warren hissed, still holding a livid Vanessa back.

"Excuse me," Bracken had stood up. "But I believe your words are out of line."

His words were polite and pretty, but his voice was lined with threat of repercussions should Brittany make a wrong move toward his beloved.

"Yeah, get lost, hag." Seth tossed over his shoulder as he brushed past Brittany casually on his way to the trash can.

"Get a brain, jock." Brittany snipped at Seth.

"Hey!" Now Kendra was standing. "Leave my brother alone, Brittany. I don't know what your damage is, but your issue is with me."

"Oh how noble of you," Brittany flipped her hair. "You know, you act like this fairy princess of a person, like this saint who just wants to be _nice_ and _help people_. Well, guess what, bitch, I see who you really are." she stepped closer to Kendra, eyes flashing.

"She better back up before she gets smacked up." Warren muttered. The table of adults was watching the exchange with avid interest, much like the rest of the courtyard.

"Whatever is about to be said is not going to be good." Tanu observes, munching on a celery stick.

"You," continues Brittany. "Are a manipulative, self-centered, attention whore. You use everyone around you to your own gain, to make you look better. Just look at that necklace! Was it from him?" She levels a well manicured nail at "Adrian".

"Yes, it was." Kendra, to her credit, has maintained the same unbothered expression for the entire attack, and says this with a tone of voice that suggests she would rather be doing anything else.

"Looks pretty damn expensive to me."

"That's really none of your concern." Bracken says through gritted teeth.

"Wow, Adalyn," Brittany barks out a cruel laugh. "I knew you were greedy, but I didn't know you had a sugar daddy. That's pretty vile, even for you."

The courtyard was so quiet a pin could've dropped on the football field and everyone would have heard it.

"Oh my god." Trask is slack jawed.

" _Che cavolo!_ "

"Mara, hold my earrings, I'm gonna start swinging."

"You know what, I'm stopping this." Warren moves to stand, but Mara and Vanessa yank him down.

"No way, José," Mara mutters. "If we stop this before Adalyn gets a rebuttal it'll ruin her."

Warren snorts under his breaths but stays seated.

"Okay, Brittany," Kendra's bored expression had been replaced by one of stony fury. "I'm going to make this very easy for you to understand since you seem to have a very hard time with very simple concepts."

"Snatch her weave, kid." Elise mutters around another mouthful of popcorn.

"I am dating Adrian. I love him very much. He is allowed to get me nice things every now and again without it being weird. It's called affection, you may want to try it sometime."

"I bet taught you all about affection."

"Well my appetite is gone." Warren pushes his salad away from himself.

"I can only say the same thing so many times, Brit," Kendra sighs. "I am not and will not ever be dating Mr. Burgess. And the fact that you continue to spread these rumors despite their pedophilic and freakish overtones tells me you're way more messed up than I could ever be."

Brittany opens her mouth to snipe back, but Kendra presses on.

"Lastly, I would say I'm sorry that you didn't get the flyer position you so clearly covet. But I'm not sorry. Being a flyer requires talent, communication, and trust, three qualities I don't think you could ever physically possess. Brittany, you are one of the most miserable beings I've ever had the displeasure of knowing, and believe me when I say I've met some of the worst. I'm tired of your lies, and your rumors, and your attitude. Now listen closely,"

Kendra stepped another foot closer to Brittany, and leaned in until they were virtually nose to nose.

"I broke your nose once, and I will do it again. Plastic surgery clearly didn't help much the first time, and I doubt your parents want to waste more money. So, if you don't mind; _Step. Aside."_

Kendra shoved past a gobsmacked Brittany hard enough to jostle her. She strode across the courtyard and through the doors to the cafeteria. Seth flashed Brittany a peace sign and a smile before following his sister. Bracken lingered a moment, regarding Brittany, before stepping up to her.

"If I may, Brittany," Bracken said. "You truly are a nightmare. I have never enjoyed a single interaction with you, and my life would be brighter if you left my girlfriend alone. So, kindly, fuck off."

Bracken went to leave but he paused, and turned back to look at Brittany

"And if you ever bother Adalyn again, I will ruin you."

The prince strode from the courtyard, following his friend's back into the main building. The courtyard was silent for a beat more, and the slowly came back to life. Brittany stormed off in the direction of the Language building, clearly going to lick her wounds.

"I...can't believe what I just watched." Trask looked shell shocked.

"K-Adalyn slaughtered that chick!" Warren was beaming with pride and amusement. "Nessa, did you _see_ that? That's my girl, she killed it!"

" _Sí_ , _cara,_ she did well. Very well. I'm taking that girl for Starbucks this weekend."

"I just witnessed the rise of a goddess," Elise said. "I can't believe I just witnessed an actual homicide. Damn y'all, our girl K really dragged her!"

Elise and Warren swapped a hard high five as their girlfriends rolled their eyes. The adults began clearing their stuff, seeing as there was only about 5 more minutes until the bell rang, and they wanted to beat the mad rush of children. Vanessa and Tanu were the first to head out, as their building was the furthest.

"Why the hell did they put our lab on the third floor?" Vanessa groaned as the pair began climbing the first of three flights of stairs.

"Ethnic discrimination." Tanu chuckled. Vanessa barked a laugh and kept going, until she was forced to stop at the landing on the second floor. Tanu nearly ran into her, stumbling as he side stepped Vanessa to see what the hold up was.

"Hey, guys," Romeo smiled, looking every bit as sickly as Seth had said. "Fancy seeing you here."

"In our own building, on the staircase, after lunch." Vanessa drawled, crossing her arms. "Yeah, really fancy."

"Excuse us, Romeo, but we don't want to be late." Tanu made to move past him, but the rail thin man scrambled to block him, ever so slightly.

"Not a problem, Tanu," Romeo said. "I just want a moment alone with Vanessa."

"No." Vanessa replied, monotonously. "I have a class as well, so if you'll excuse us-"

"Vanessa, please," Romeo was clearly doing his best to be even a bit polite. A cold sweat had broken out on his pasty forehead. "I apologize for my advances from before break-"

"Thanks, I don't care."

"If you could just _listen_ -"

"Rather not-"

"Do you ever _shut up?_ "

Tanu could predict his friend's reaction, and moved to blocked Vanessa's aggressive advance. He tossed a look at her over her shoulder, one that screamed "We Really Can't Afford Another Incident Right Now So Please Be Cool".

"As fun and awkward as this has been, we have to go. Sorry, Romeo, you know how it is," Tanu smiled, pretending nothing was out of the ordinary about the interaction, and that the man in front of them wasn't extremely ill and very contagious. Romeo was panting slightly, his face ugly and contorted with rage.

Before the spanish teacher could open his mouth again, Tanu brushed passed him more harshly than not, giving Vanessa a path to the next flight of stairs. He turned and followed her quickly, ignoring the insult Romeo spat behind him. They only spoke again when they reached their classroom.

"So, he's definitely infected." Tanu sighed.

"Undoubtedly. He was never that rude directly. Very passive aggressive, and jealous, and stuff, but not angry like that," Vanessa scowled. " _Stronzo_."

"Agreed," Tanu said as he unlocked the door to their room. "We better keep a closer eye on him, and the other faculty as well."

"I'd rather eat glass."

"I'll be sure to let Trask know. Now, c'mon, we have powerpoints to add clipart to and young minds to mold."

* * *

"That's everyone, Warren." Trask said as he closed and locked the door to the history classroom.

"How come you get the fancy Smart Board?" Tanu muttered, eyeing Warren's classroom. "You probably don't even use them."

"Smart Boards are for communists." Warren replied as he finished erasing his whiteboard.

"That doesn't even-"

"Alright people!" Warren clapped his hands, cutting off Tanu. All five pairs of eyes turned to him, and he picked up a black dry erase marker. "Let's recap why we're here and what we're trying to accomplish. Elise, kick us off."

"Why are any of us really here man? It's all, like, a conspiracy-"

"You know what, Elise, never mind. Mara, you kick us off."

"We're going to sneak around the school and try to find some kind of evidence of this poison, or lead on who the perp may be."

"That was totally what I was gonna say next." Elise said, rolling her eyes.

"Thank you Mara and maybe sort of Elise," Warren said, scribbling what Mara had said at the top of the board in slanted blocky handwriting. "Tanu, how do we hope to accomplish these goals my friend?"

"Sneaking around?"

"Specifics, dude. The details are the juicy delicious meat of the operation"

"The what now-"

"Vanessa! Details!"

"We're going to the kitchen in the cafeteria to examine the food, new and any that may be old, and the surrounding air vents."

"Yes, thank you, Nessa!" Warren scribbled passionately, and the team chuckled. "Trask, take us home!"

"We know the poison is highly contagious, and most likely being ingested or inhaled. Therefore the kitchens are the most likely point of origin."

"Awesome work team! Except Tanu, you killed me smalls."

"Whoops." Tanu smiled easily.

"Alright, if we're all good, let's get going."

"Warren, shouldn't you erase that?" Mara pointed at the board that had their plan scribbled all over it.

"Yeah probably."

After Warren had done just that, the team exited the room. Warren took the lead, Trask and Vanessa flanking him, Mara and Elise behind them, and Tanu taking up the rear. Rusty as they may be from a few months of relative inaction, they fell back into their roles as Knights easier than anything.

They passed no one on their way to the kitchens, and as they neared the double doors to the back of the cafeteria, Warren let Vanessa take the lead. She was the best spy of them all; she could scope the area out quietly, and if she got caught she could fake the best lie to get out.

"Don't do anything dumb." Warren muttered as she brushed past him to open the doors. She tossed a thumbs up over her shoulder, looked both ways, and slipped through to the cafeteria. A moment later, her head popped back out from the behind the door.

"All clear, let's go." She disappeared again. The team crossed the hallway as casually as possible, and then disappeared into kitchens. Warren resumed lead again once inside.

The ambiance of the darkened kitchen was creepy to say the least. There were no windows, so they all had their phones' flashlights out. Somewhere in the room, a faucet was dripping a steady rhythm. The chrome of the kitchenware reflected their lights back at them, making it difficult to see too far ahead.

"I hate to be that guy, but we should probably split up." Trask whispered.

"Agreed." Warren murmured. Wordlessly, the team divided into groups of two and began combing through the fairly spacious kitchen. Mara and Elise began opening cabinets, rummaging through bowls and trays and mixers, pulling out cookware and examining the lining do the pantry.

Tanu and Trask were examining the vents in the walls and along the ceiling, carefully moving panels of the ceiling or unscrewing the vent screens to shine lights inside.

Warren and Vanessa were opening refrigerators, pulling out ingredients and prepared food, occasionally lifting something to sniff at it. The team continued on like this for about ten minutes, frozen in time with their tasks, until suddenly, time snapped back into place and several things happened all at once.

"Warren, does this smell weird to you?" Vanessa was holding up a bowl of what was probably supposed to be corn, but was mostly just sadness.

"Hey, guys, there's definitely something in the vents over here!" Tanu called, his entire upper torso in the overhead vent.

"Can you get a sample?" Trask called, pulling a tiny evidence baggie out of an inner pocket.

"I think you may wanna come do that yourself, secret agent man," Tanu pulled himself out of them vent, stepping off the chair he'd been using and back onto the ground. "It looks like a dry mold, like asbestos, but more sinister. I don't wanna disturb too much of it."

"I got you," Trask looked around, and grabbed a coffee stirrer from off a counter. "I can definitely get us enough to stick under a microscope without kicking up a dust cloud."

"Trask," Vanessa called softly. "Give us one of those baggies. There's definitely something off with this corn."

"There's always something off about corn," Elise muttered. "It's corn."

Warren and Vanessa ignored the other Knight, instead reaching into the large tray with a plastic spoon. They heaped a good spoonful of the glop into the baggie before carefully replacing the cover and putting it back in the fridge. Trask re-emerged a second later, his baggie dusted with what looked like wet black dirt. Flecks of iridescent purple could be seen in the dust.

"Jackpot." Trask grinned.

Suddenly, the door they had entered through slammed open, crashing into the wall with a resounding bang. The team whirled to face the noise, hands on their concealed weaponry.

In the doorway stood a lone figure in what looked like an outdated hazmat suit, black and baggy around his or her limbs. The face of the mask was chillingly reminiscent of the masks doctors wore during the plague; black leather, beaked mouth piece, charred from chemical burns, and with eye lenses red and cracked.

"Guys," Elise's voice trembled quietly. " _What the hell is that?_ "

The person's head snapped in their direction, lenses seemingly fixated on them. For a moment, everyone was still, tense, waiting.

Then the figure ran at them.

The kitchen exploded into action as everyone moved to dodge the freakish birdman. The masked figure pulled a jagged dagger out from a hip sheath, and began slicing haphazardly at the Knights. Elise jumped onto the countertop, grabbing one of the baggies as she did, and moved toward the exit. Before she could get very far, the masked figure lashed out and grabbed her ankle, sending her sprawling to the floor. Elise bit back a yell as the side of her face slammed into the edge of the stainless steel countertop, feeling pain blossom outward from her cheek bone. Her head collided none-too-gently with the floor, and the room spun.

Mara launched herself at the birdman, landing a kick to its sternum area. The humanoid stumbled backwards into a rack of pots and pans, and the clanging echoed loudly through the dark chaos of the kitchen. Mara turned and helped Elise to her feet and the two began to make their way to the doors.

Warren and Trask pulled out their own daggers and began to back the birdman into a corner.

While it was distracted, Tanu grabbed the other sample bag and tossed it to Mara. As he turned back around the help them, the birdman broke free from Trask and Warren's block and came toward Tanu. Thinking fast, the Samoan reached into his pocket and pulled out a sachet of flash powder. He threw it hard and it did the job, exploding with a bang and a glittering flash upon contact with the mask. The being screeched loudly, not unlike a bird, clawing at the mask and trying to fan away the residual glittering smoke.

While the figure stumbled again, dazed and confused, Vanessa charged it, pivoting on her heel and bringing her knee up to the figure's stomach area with vicious force. The birdman doubled over, and she went to kick it in the mask, but the thing reached up with lightning speed and grabbed Vanessa's leg, unbalancing her. It made to push her over, but Warren and Trask grabbed it and threw it back into the corner. The birdman slumped against the wall, and didn't move. The group paused, breathing heavily, waiting and watching.

Before anyone could speak, the birdman leapt back to action, movements lagging and disconnected, like a bubonic marionette. It spun and kicked Warren in the solar plexus, forcing the man back with a grunt of pain. Warren bent over, winded. The figure danced nimbly around Trask's slashing blade, and paused under the vent. It looked up at the spot they had just taken a sample from, cocked its head, and then looked back at all of them. It brandished the dagger.

" _Run, now!"_ Tanu yelled, just as the birdman punched upward with his knife, ripping a hole in the sheet metal holding the mold they had found. What they could only assume was powdered poison began drifting out of the vents like toxic snow. Warren stumbled to his feet, and began sprinting for the door, covering his mouth. The rest followed suit, Trask bringing up the rear.

" _Split up, get to the cars!"_ Warren yelled, tearing off after Vanessa down a utility hallway. They cut around corner after corner until they found one of the exits. They exploded through the double doors, flying down a flight of steps and onto a side field.

Tanu and Trask turned the first corner they saw, a sharp right, and flew out pair of side doors into an older parking lot. They raced across it, through a small patch of trees and shrubs, and across the baseball pitch until they could see their cars.

Mara and Elise vaulted up a flight of stairs, across a bridge into the next building, and then down a different flight of stairs to the main parking lot. They reached their car first, and threw themselves into it, locking the doors before they dared relax.

"We made it." Elise wheezed. Her face was badly bruised, and she could feel that she was concussed.

"Barely." Mara was barely winded, being one of the more athletic Knights. She turned to examine Elise's bruising, but stopped when she noticed the horrified look on her face. "Elise, what is it?"

"When are the kids done with sports?"

Mara glanced at her watch. She closed her eyes and breathed out through her nose.

"Now."

* * *

"Why aren't they picking up?" Kendra muttered to herself. She tapped Warren's number again, let it ring through, and hung up when she got his voicemail yet again. She put her phone away and decided to just head toward the group's cars. They were probably still snooping around.

As she started walking down the long sports' corridor, she pulled her phone out yet again and began texting her brother.

 **K: Seth where u at**

 **S: locker room, just about done. I will meet u in the parking lot by van car.**

 **K: ok dont forget ur math book**

Kendra looked up from her phone as a chill rattled down her spine. She whipped around, but the hallway was deserted. The fluorescent lighting above her flickered once, twice, and went out. Her grip on her backpack tightened.

' _You're just being paranoid.'_ She thought to herself. Nonetheless, she backed up against an old set of lockers, paint chipped and flaking. Her hand moved up to grip her necklace. ' _Babe, are you there?'_

' _Hey love,'_ Bracken's voice, melodic and chipper, filtered into her head. ' _How was practice?'_

' _Fine. Sweaty and all that, but fun. How about you?'_ Bracken began rambling about modern fencing and forms, and Kendra let his voice wash over her as she continued to look around the corridor. She pushed herself off the lockers and kept walking, making her way cautiously down the hall. Unfortunately for her, the newest gymnasium was in the middle of the school, and it was a fair trek to any of the parking lots. She pulled out her phone to text Warren.

 **K: Hey, practice over. Where r u?**

She watched the screen until her message delivered, and then waited for a reply. And waited. And waited. As she walked under another light fixture, it flickered once, twice, and went out. Most of the hallway was now bathed in darkness,not that it much affected her. Kendra paused again, looking back the way she came. She squinted, looking at the far end of the corridor. It looked like…

Kendra felt ice water trickle down her back. She couldn't hear Bracken anymore. She gripped the necklace.

' _Bracken? Are you there?'_ It felt like there was cotton in her ears. She waited a beat. No answer from Bracken. She shook her wrist, the communication charm bracelet she had received for Christmas falling down her sleeve and making contact with her skin. Immediately her head exploded with voices.

' _Kendra my charm went dead, can you hear me?'_

' _Kids, get the hell out of the building now!'_

' _Kens, where are you? Are you okay?'_

' _Run, Kendra. If you see it, run!'_

Kendra glanced down at her phone again, only to see she had no signal. She cursed and looked up.

Right into a pair of cracked red lenses on a horrific beaked mask.

Kendra was frozen in place. She was staring past a leather beak, right into its reflective blood-red eye sockets. She made no moves. Neither did the bird. Slowly, ever so slowly, she began to back up. Still, the birdman made no movement. Eventually, her backpack touched the far wall. The second corridor was to her left, right there, she just needed to _run._ But she couldn't.

' _Guys'_ she whispered over the communication channel. ' _What am I looking at?'_

' _An adversary, same as any other, kiddo,'_ Warren answered, though his voice was shaking, as though trying not to panic. ' _Do you see an exit?'_

' _Yeah.'_ Kendra's eyes were still glued to the terrifying bird thing in front of her. It cocked it's head to the side, as though examining her. It looked more avian than human in the moment.

' _Run, Kendra.'_

The man in the plague mask twitched.

Faster than Kendra could blink, the birdman charged towards her, screeching inhumanely. Kendra jolted and began sprinting down the left corridor. She could hear it's hazmat boots clanking rapidly behind her, quickly gaining on her. She opened the communication channel with her mind.

' _Someone, please, HELP!"_

' _On my way!'_ Bracken and Seth's voices spoke together.

Kendra thought she heard more people start to reply, but she diverted her focus to her breathing and running. She reached the end of the hallway, legs pumping hard, and let herself skid to the right around the next corner as fast as she could. Sure enough, she heard the figure crash into the wall on the turn, unable to compete with Kendra's agility.

Kendra saw the next turn coming up, a narrower corridor to her left in the middle of the locker-lined hallway. Before she could reach it, though, her pursuer caught up to her. She felt wiry arms wrap around her middle, effectively stopping her and throwing off her balance. As she was lifted into the air, she began kicking and flailing, doing her best to get her captor to drop his iron grip. Once again faster than should be humanly possible, she was lifted high above the birdman's head, and thrown harshly into a wall of lockers.

Kendra felt her head collide with a locker handle, dazing her and causing her to cry out. Blood began oozing into her eye from the fresh cut on her forehead. The wind had been knocked out of her when she hit the wall, and her arm got banged up as she toppled to the ground. She attempted to push herself up, but felt a steel-toed boot slam into her back, sending her back down to the ground.

"Who...are you?" Kendra spat out. Her teeth were clenched in pain, and her ears were ringing. She was still recovering from her coma, and the new injuries she could feel on her would only make things harder, she was sure.

In reply, the birdman only made another, more staggered screeching noise. Like a demonic laugh. Just as the pressure on her back began to increase, someone yelled from behind them. Suddenly, the weight was thrown from her. Kendra looked up with her one clear eye to see-

"Seth!"

Her brother had tackled the birdman, sending them both sprawling. The masked figure was trying to free a dagger from near his hip, but Seth's increasingly violent punches were preoccupying it. She began to push herself to a sitting position when a hand entered her peripheral.

"Kendra!" It was Bracken, looking disheveled and out of breath and concerned. "Are you alright? Wait, no, that's a poor question. Here, let me-"

He reached down and pulled her into a sitting position, resting her against the lockers.

"I can fight." She muttered, rubbing the blood off of her eye and staggering to her feet.

"Like hell you can." Bracken tried to stop her advances on the Seth and the birdman, now wrestling on the ground. She opened her mouth to reply when she saw the figure lift Seth to his feet in a headlock, the younger boy struggling and kicking as his air was cut off.

"We don't have time to debate this, Bracken!" Kendra turned and charged the two of them, trusting Bracken had her back. She ran at the figure's front, saw it brace itself to grab her as well, and then feinted left. Bracken, close behind her, tackled the pair to the ground. As the figure was sent flying, it let go of Seth, who also went flying. Her younger brother collided with some lockers, but bounced back up.

"Nice play, man," Seth rolled his neck. "But maybe next time try something a little more, I don't know, tactful? Gentle?"

"I'm sorry, you were being _strangled_. Did you miss that part?" Bracken threw his arms wide in exasperation.

" _Boys!_ Not the time!" Kendra watched the birdman stagger to his feet again. Kendra brought her hand to her necklace, and felt the magic within it respond to her wishes. It melted into a small but sharp dagger, the pommel of which formed perfectly to suit her grip. Seth pulled a long knife out of his bag, his Christmas gift no doubt. Kendra made a mental note to ask him why he brought it to school. Bracken was brandishing his second horn, normally worn as a ring, now a long sword, pearlescent and deadly.

The birdman paused, sizing them up. He dropped his dagger and sprinted back the way he came. Bracken yelled and began sprinting after him, leaving Kendra and Seth to sort themselves out. Seth walked over and made to pick up the dagger.

"Seth wait!" Kendra jogged over. "We don't know what that was, or who that was. This thing could be toxic."

"Good point," Seth rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief.

"Why do you have that?"

"Patton carried one, so I'm gonna carry one."

"Patton's era didn't have Kleenex."

"Let me live, K." Seth scowled, wrapping the dagger in the soft linen.

"Fine, sorry, dweeb," Kendra rolled her eyes, then winced. "Got any more of those things? My forehead is throbbing."

"Sorry, Grandpa only had one." Seth stood up and offered Kendra a hand up. She took it, groaning when the hallway began spinning.

"I'm definitely concussed." She muttered.

"Here, let me put this in my bag," Seth trotted over and tossed the weapon into a pouch in his bag. He then grabbed Kendra's bag and dropped it down next to his. "Now, climb on."

Seth turned and offered Kendra his back. Kendra tried to not be as touched as she was by his offer. Her little brother sure was growing up. She jumped on, scowling when she realized he was a good inch or two taller than her now. Once she was settled, Seth leaned down and grabbed their bags, not bothering to support Kendra's weight as her legs were doing all the work anyway. He turned and began jogging down the narrow corridor.

"I wonder if this is what boot camp is like?" Seth said, pushing through a set of doors at the end of the passage.

"I think you probably need to carry a bit more weight than a fairy girl and two school bags."

"Says you, bowling ball butt. This is no picnic. I'm like Rambo right now."

"On second thought, I'll walk."

"Ha-ha."

Kendra rolled her eyes, and found herself wincing again. She really needed some ice. Soon enough, they emerged out into the main parking lot, the setting January sun providing scare light. Their family's cars were the only ones left. She could see the adults huddled in a group by Trask's Jeep. Seth began jogging faster.

"Hey! Hey over here!" He hollered. The adults whipped around, and began sprinting to meet them.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Where's the unicorn?"

"Kendra what the hell happened to your head!"

"Seth, here, let me help-"

"Guys!" Kendra yelled, getting overwhelmed by the crowding and her building headache. "Please, one at a time."

"Are you any more hurt than what we can see?" Tanu asked, stepping forward. Seth set Kendra down but stayed close for her to lean on. He relinquished the bags to Mara, who walked them over to Vanessa's car.

"No, my arm's a bit bruised but I'm fine." Kendra said, then hissed as Tanu prodded her cut. He pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight, examining her eyes.

"You're a little concussed, Ken." He said apologetically. She smiled at him.

"It's okay," Kendra said. "It'll heal in a couple days."

"Kendra," Warren said, sounding winded. "Where's Bracken."

"He went after that thing," Kendra frowned. "I didn't think to follow him, he had his horn and he's, y'know, him. And I'm not in top form right now. Should we have gone with him?"

"No, Kendra," Vanessa smoothed some hair out of Kendra's face, examining the gash on her as well. "It's better to have some of you out here, than all of you in there, with that thing. Besides, the ancient horse is probably going to fare better than any of us right now."

"Yeah, are you guys okay?" Seth finally spoke up, looking more than a bit worried. "You warned us, after all. Did you guys see it, too?"

"Saw it, fought it, ran from it." Warren grimaced. "We could have taken it on, but it opened up a vent of poison on us."

"What!"

"We'll explain the whole thing back at the house. Right now, we gotta find Bracken," Warren turned to the group. "Vanessa, do you and Mara want to-"

"No need for a search and rescue, I'm right here."

They all turned to see Bracken stumbling out of the building, fencing bag in hand, looking rather unhappy. Kendra and Seth jogged over to meet him.

"Bracken are you okay?"

"What happened man?"

"Nothing, sadly. I chased the weird man- or woman, I suppose- down, but that thing was insanely fast. No matter how fast I ran, it ran faster. It was incredibly vexing, and rather humiliating," the prince sighed, then turned to Kendra. "I'm alright, though, love. No harm. How are you holding up?"

"I really want to take a nap. A figure out what the hell just happened."

"Well then," Trask spoke up. "I think we had all better get home."

* * *

 **I would call that a well-thickened plot. Hope you all enjoyed, please throw some feedback our way, we love to hear from you!**


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